


Love at turn 1

by NeoLight



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Disabled Character, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Football | Soccer, Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, RED Team bonding, Slow Burn, a whole bunch of them, card game lingo, disabled!akko, magic the gathering references, no magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23550013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoLight/pseuds/NeoLight
Summary: Akko thought she lost everything when she lost her legs. But one day she discovers a crazy complicated card game, and her life begins to slowly gain at least a little of what it once was. But why is Diana Cavendish playing the game too, when she called it "a distraction from life"?Read for Magic: The Gathering offbrands, red team bonding, coping with loss, vunerability, and feels.and gay.
Relationships: Atsuko "Akko" Kagari & Sucy Manbavaran & Lotte Yanson, Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 54
Kudos: 201





	1. Cut?

** Cut? **

Diana looked pointedly at her opponent from across the table. Akko stared at her end of the field, with all of her Sorcerer's stones tapped and in range of dueling from every single one of Diana’s unicorn creatures. Looking at her single health point written down, she knew this was the end. 

Akko was suddenly regretting the bet she made with Sucy. When was she going to learn that making deals with her mad-scientist friend was a bad idea? But here she was, about to lose her final preliminary match in her first ever  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ tournament. Against  _ Diana Cavendish  _ of all people. 

_ How did I get here? _

* * *

Akko Kagari had been paralyzed from the waist down at age 14. It had almost destroyed her life, ruining any opportunity she had for soccer, which was her passion at the time. A sport that distinctively used legs.

The paralysis wasn't genetic. It was just dumb luck. A stupid spinal cord infection. One day she was chasing the soccer ball down the field at her school, and the next day she was in the hospital. She had cried and cried for days, burrowing herself into a hole that nobody could get her out of. Not her parents, not her grandmother. Her soccer “friends” quickly forgot about her, so they weren’t there for her either.

But then a shining—no, _shiny_ —light gleamed through the dark clouds in her life. Her grandmother was always great at finding new things for Akko, little trinkets that she would see in random store windows as she was walking in town like she would always do. And one day, the elder woman waddled into Akko’s room, smiling with wrinkles and stars, and introduced her to _Chariot: The Believing._

Initially, Akko was skeptical. A trading card game? She was a sport-oriented girl— _ until a year ago _ —and there was no way some nerdy pieces of cardboard were meant for her. So she rejected the game for that, and because she was having another one of her  _ bad days. _ Those started happening after  _ the incident _ , and they happened a lot. 

But when she peered into her grandmother’s starry eyes, her bitter mood retreated just a tad. Just enough to let her try this exotic game. 

And when the two learned how to play it, they laughed at its complexity, which somehow contributed to its charm. They rolled the dice that came with the game, running the pads of their fingers over each of the 20 sides. They turned their cards sideways, ‘tapping’ into their power, and they shuffled their ‘magic repositories’ which was a very fancy name for  _ deck.  _

Those moments of trying out  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ would be one of Akko’s favourite memories with her grandmother. 

Akko was quick to take the game in with a new obsession. She learned about everything within the game. She was observant of the meta, keeping up with each set release. She watched a lot of online witch-tubers, a name given to those who analyzed the game, introducing new tactics and combos and strategies. 

But it was all done alone, or with Grandmother. Never with new friends. Despite being a  _ particularly _ loud, extroverted girl, she was very shy with interacting with the  _ otaku  _ kids at school. Her parents and therapist were worried about her.

And then grandmother died.

Any spark of joy that Akko had was gone. Life became a monotonous loop, repeating over and over again like her wheelchair’s motion. Many consecutive  _ bad days _ followed. Another hole was dug, and Akko made no plans of ever getting out. 

But this time her parents forced her back into the blinding new world. Her mother was there for her to lean on, and her father— 

Well, he got a new job. In Great Britain, actually. So together the three of them learned English with decent prowess, and took off to London when Akko turned 16. 

Akko brought her  _ Chariot  _ cards and her soccer ball. That was about it.

It was sunny when they arrived at their new apartment, which was a big surprise for Akko. She was always under the impression that it was always raining or storming or cloudy. It didn’t make a difference, because Akko wasn’t meant to spend time outside much anyways. 

Still, her parents forced her out onto the streets of London—not alone, of course. But Akko’s mom insisted that “we found you a coffee shop that has the game you and your  _ obassan  _ used to play all the time,” and Akko was suddenly right in front of  _ Luna Nova Coffee and Games _ . 

“Uh, mom, I don’t—” Akko protested, but her mother was already diving into a clothing store down the road. 

Akko sighed. “I guess I’ve got no choice, now do I.” And without waiting any longer, she rolled through the door of Luna Nova.

The amount of  _ life  _ that assaulted her was instantaneous. Teenagers were scrambling all around the shop, either playing video games, drinking sugary sodas, or— 

Playing  _ Chariot. _ Despite everything, Akko smiled. The game still managed to bring fond memories of grandmother, no matter when she saw it. Breathing deeply, she moved her clunky wheelchair to watch two kids who were playing in a corner booth.

“And that’s game two, Lotte.” A purple haired teen grinned toothily at a sweet-looking Finnish girl. The other girl, Lotte, pouted semi-angrily. “Sucy! You cheated, I just know it!” 

With no sense of personal space, Akko reached over to pick up Lotte’s repository of cards and compared it with the cards on the table. “Well, there’s your issue. Your source-stone and creature ratio is really lopsided. I think it has to do with your deck count just in general. If you just cut a few things—”

“ _ I know _ ! That’s what Sucy keeps telling me, but I just love the spirit-type creature so much that I can’t get rid of any of them!” She huffed. A few seconds later, her eyes widened. “Wait, who are you?!” 

“Oh. Uh, hi. I’m Kagari Atsuko.  _ Wait _ —Atsuko Kagari. But you can call me Akko!” Akko smiled. It was her first genuine, Akko-certified grin in a while. 

Sucy cackled. “Akko, huh. So you also recognize that Lotte’s repository is stupidly amateurish?”

Akko shook her head vehemently. “No, not at all! It might not be the  _ best _ , competitively speaking, but all the cards have deliberately matching flavours! I think it’s very charming.” 

Lotte smiled at her gratefully.

For her part, Sucy was very amused. “Flavor doesn’t count for much when you can’t win a single game with it, though.”

Akko crossed her arms. “Well, that’s if winning counts in the first place. It’s my belief that  _ Chariot  _ is a game to be had fun with before you win in it.”

Lotte suddenly looked a little bit sad. “Yeah, well, it wouldn’t hurt to win sometimes, I guess…”

Akko reached for Lotte’s hand. “Ok! Then let’s try fixing up your repository! I can help you combine flavours with strategy, if you’re ok with shaving your deck down just a little bit.” 

Akko’s ability to erase bad moods from people around her was coming back, it seemed, because Lotte smiled again. “Alright then, lead the way, Akko!” and the girls high-fived while Sucy sat there, cackling.

Sucy beat Lotte again 2-0. The first game was a steamroll, but the second one Lotte almost got close. 

The three became fast friends after that. 

* * *

Akko was  _ not  _ about to be friends with Diana Cavendish at all. The girl was apparently rich, athletic, and smart. Which would in no way be any kind of wall to prevent Akko from being friends with the other girl, but their first interaction was in no way a good first impression. 

Diana had been walking down the halls of the fancy school that Akko’s father had the fortune of helping her attend. While his job must have helped him scrape by with just paying for it, Diana looked like she could have afforded the tuition three times over. And it looked like she had, because she had two other girls floating around her like gaseous moons.  _ Hannah and Barbara _ , Akko had loosely tied their names to their faces from a class introduction a couple weeks ago. 

Diana and Akko had made eye-contact for a brief second, before both broke it in an almost identical  _ huff _ . Akko intended to keep rolling with dignity past the Cavendish... _ heir? _ when the rubber on her left wheel decided to dislocate itself  _ just enough _ for her to come to a complete stop. 

Akko lurched forward unexpectedly and her eyes widened. Before she could react, her bag fell to the ground, contents spilling everywhere. “Oh, Akko, I’ll get that. Hold on.” Lotte, who had been silent beside Akko, moved to get her bag back in order. (It was honestly lucky that her and Sucy somehow both attended Blytonbury like her.)

“Oh would you look at that,” Hannah—or maybe Barbara—jeered. “The cripple got into a little traffic jam.” 

Akko glared at the girl who spoke. 

“Why, you— _ oof! _ ” Of course today of all days her wheelchair decided to be a piece of shit, and it  _ broke down _ , throwing her onto the cold, hard ground. She felt her lucky  _ Chariot  _ card,  _ The Shiny Rod _ , flutter from her pocket. 

“Oh, Akko, let me help you up!” Lotte eep’d.

Then the other one of Diana’s cronies decided to speak. Stuck on the ground, Akko couldn’t hear who it was. “Oh, she plays  _ Chariot _ ? Pathetic. What do you think of that, Diana?” Hannah-Barbara giggled.

Akko was having none of it. Despite being on the ground, she tried to muster the voice of a towering giant. “Hey, you listen—!  _ Chariot  _ is very special to me, and it’s a lot more interesting than either of your personalities, which isn’t saying much, but—”

“I would advise that you give up such a frivolous waste of time, Ms. Kagari.” Diana spoke coldly.

Lotte had finally scrambled over to Akko to pick her off from the ground. As she helped, Akko glared deeply into Diana’s sapphire eyes. 

Diana continued. “Not only is it a distraction from your studies, but it is a distraction from adulthood. A distraction from life. Now, I’d suggest you get to class.”

Akko held out her hand. “May I please have my card back,  _ Ms. Cavendish? _ ” She spat, mocking Diana’s earlier tone.

The other girl wordlessly handed it back. Akko ripped it from her hands. “Listen closely, Diana Cavendish. You have no right to comment about my life like that. We are not friends now, and you’ve just made it so we will never be. Get the hell out of my face.”

The other three girls were shocked. Lotte looked like she was about to drop Akko. Turning their noses, Diana and her two demonic servants walked to their class. 

When they were out of earshot, Lotte spoke. “Akko, I’ve never heard you act like that! What made you— _ oh?! _ ”

Akko was crying.

* * *

Sucy raised an eyebrow. “Wow, you said all that to Diana Cavendish?” She cackled. “I didn’t think you had it in you… although, it makes perfect sense when I think about it now.” The girl fired off another cackle.

Sucy, Lotte and Akko were all sitting in their same corner booth, talking about the week’s events while casually playing  _ Chariot _ . Akko slammed her fist down. “Diana is just so... _ ugh.  _ I thought we could be friends at the start and she was kinda pretty and stuff but then she insults  _ Chariot. _ God _ damn _ .”

Sucy raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t comment. 

Lotte untapped her Sorcerer’s stones and casted a Nekomata onto the field. “Akko, you never told us about how you got into  _ Chariot _ . Oh, and Sucy, discard two.” 

The purple-haired girl threw up her hands at that. But nevertheless, she also prompted, “Yeah, Akko. When exactly did you get into this whole thing?”

Akko drew a card. “Uh, my  _ obassan.  _ Grandmother. Hmm...I’m gonna tap Alcor and swing at you, Lotte, for three.”

Lotte flinched. She was almost out of the game, again. “Your  _ grandmother?  _ Is she good at  _ Chariot _ ?”

Akko went still. “Yeah. she was the best.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“It’s fine. It’s been two years, don’t worry.”

“Is that why—when Diana—”

“Yeah. I’ve been doing better for a while, but we were close. You two help a lot, actually.”

Lotte went silent. Sucy was sipping her soda quietly, oddly introspective. But then she broke the silence with an oddly sincere sentence. “Well, Akko, I’m glad you chose us for friends. Neither one of us really had any others until you came along.”

Akko’s eye’s glistened. “Aww, Sucy—!”

Her sincerity was over as quick as it had begun. Giving a twisted grin, she said, “Plus, it’s nice to have another  _ Chariot _ punching bag that isn’t Lotte. Check the field, losers.”

Akko and Lotte looked down in shock. Both of their life totals had a big fat  _ zero  _ where a 25 used to be— neatly crossed out in Sucy’s handwriting. It wasn’t just for show, either. Both of their fields had been placed into a complete checkmate thanks to Sucy’s potion-based repository. 

“ _ WHAAAAT?!” _

* * *

It’s the next day when Luna Nova had a promotional  _ Chariot _ poster proudly taped to its glass window.  _ ‘With the introduction of  _ The Words of Arcturus Reborn, _ Luna Nova is hosting a two-day tournament here next week! Join us here to try to unlock the  _ Seven Words _ once again! We believe in your believing hearts, players!’  _ the poster read. Beside it there was a simple signup sheet.

Akko grinned. “Guys, we need to enter. This could be our debut as legends into the competitive scene!”

Lotte was not as ready to jump into such an event. “I dunno, guys. I’m still not the best at actually playing the game.”

Akko waved her arms wildly. “You have good decks, Lotte! The only thing you need is  _ confidence!  _ Just view this tournament as a chance to improve! Besides, the tourney is at a coffee shop! It’s gonna be like, super lowkey and casual. You’ll do great!”

Lotte seemed unconvinced, but still walked up to write her and Akko’s names onto the sign-up sheet. “Sucy? You going?”

The lilac-haired girl looked unsure, completely contradicting her regular demeanor. “I actually, uh, might have a mini-science fair that day. It could be a tight squeeze.” 

Akko wheeled around to look at her. “Noooo! Sucy, you got to go! What time is your science thing?”

“It’s like, 9 to 12:30.”

Eyeing the poster, Akko grimaced at the start time.  _ 13:00 _ .

Not giving up, the Japanese girl activated her signature weapon: an _ Akko meltdown.  _ “Suuuuuucy! You gotta come! Just….please?” She begged.

Sucy flinched when she looked into those bright, oddly crimson eyes of Akko’s.  _ Damn it.  _ “Ok. but I have two conditions,  _ Kagari Atsuko. _ ” The formal pronunciation made Akko blink. “Uh, yeah?”

“The first is that you trade your cards in or buy new ones. Constantly translating what each card says can only work in our kitchen-table-esque games.”

Akko scratched the back of her head. When she first started playing  _ Chariot _ with Sucy and Lotte, she viewed it as too much of a hassle to switch her Japanese cards in for an English-translated version. She had only ever played with those two, so she was okay with translating each card’s meaning for them. And then after a while, they had just known what each card did based on the art, so Akko had even less incentive to localize her stock.

But in a competitive format, she had to concede that that was a necessity. “Oh… okay. What’s the other thing?”

Sucy grinned wildly. “I want to enter a little wager with you. How does this sound: If you break from prelims, I’ll buy you five packs of  _ Seven Words. _ If you don’t, you have to be my chemistry assistant for a week. Deal?” Like a little devil, she held out her hand maliciously.

Akko gulped. On the one hand, she was deathly scared of being in anything chemistry-related within a mile of Sucy. The girl was her generation’s mad scientist, with the power to create chemical weapons from nothing but school-issued chemistry labs. Well, that was the impression Akko got, at least. 

On the other hand,  _ five packs  _ of  _ Seven Words  _ if she only broke prelims?  _ And  _ Sucy would be coming? With a clear conviction, she shook her friend’s hand. “Deal.” 

And with that, the pact was made, forever sealed and sacred, unbreakable and undoable.

Akko loosened her hand from Sucy’s grip. “Okay! Who wants lunch?” 

* * *

One week later and the fateful day had come. Sucy had been just a little late, making it to the door at 12:50, when they said they were meeting at :45. Akko and Lotte were already standing in front of Luna Nova’s door like they always did, only with a tad more anticipation. They’d trained for this the whole week, playing  _ Chariot  _ after school, even  _ during _ school. (Akko was careful to remain unseen from Diana during that time) They debated strategies over text and stayed up late coming up with synergy ideas and different card combinations.

Luna Nova had made this tournament split into two days for a reason. The first day was only prelims, and the next day was octofinals all the way up to finals. So all Akko had to do was win enough games to make it to make it to the next day, and then it didn’t matter from there on out.

Well, obviously, she would win the championships, but that went unsaid. 

But  _ damn  _ if this wasn’t the fullest Luna Nova had ever been. Akko was realizing that she may have been wrong about it being lowkey. It was loud and bustling with life like usual, only this time it was  _ crowded _ . Puffing her chest out, she rolled up to the registration, stating rather loudly, “Hi, we are here to register for the tournament!” She gestured to Lotte and Sucy behind her.

The woman working at the register, a kind (although surprisingly strict) old lady named Holbrooke, smiled. “Hello, Akko. I’ve got you three signed up already. I’m going to have to ask for your entry fee, if that’s alright with you.”

The woman’s words managed to calm down Akko’s fervor. “Oh yeah, just let me get it out of my wallet,” she said, reaching for a side compartment on her wheelchair.

It didn’t take long for table assignments to appear on Luna Nova’s central TV. With three reassuring grins, Akko, Sucy, and Lotte both went their separate ways. Well, Sucy and Lotte went to different tables, while Akko had stayed at an out-of-the-way corner that Holbrooke was generous enough to give to Akko to play on for the tournament, so as to cause as little inconvenience as possible to her or other players.

The first opponent to approach Akko was a blond boy who introduced himself as Frank. He was actually quite friendly, saying that this was his first tournament—“No way, me too!” Akko interjected—and he hoped they both would have fun.

Akko certainly had fun. While Sucy and Lotte specialized in Potions and Spirits respectively, Akko’s talent was in the Transformation mechanic of the game. With that mechanic, you had the power to either make your opponent’s creatures weaker by transforming them into something harmless like a frog or a rock, or augment your own creature cards with powerful abilities. It was one of the more complicated mechanics of  _ Chariot: The Believing _ , but Akko loved it.

It was through this method that Akko won by a landslide. Transforming her weak creatures into mice-tokens allowed them to gain the ability  _ agile _ , which meant she could get free damage off on Frank with no drawback. He had no counter to this, so she ended up doing it twice, winning her 2-0. At the end, he smiled in disbelief. “Wow...that was amazing! You’re pretty talented, Akko.” And he went off to report their scores.

After round one, there was a snack break. Sucy and Lotte had both won their games, with Sucy at a clan 2-0 like Akko and Lotte at a near miss of 2-1. She was overly enthusiastic, however, something that Akko got the memo of when her friends walked over to her table.

“Anyways, Sucy, how was your science fair thing anyways?” Akko said politely, trying to get used to shuffling her stiff, english-translated  _ Chariot  _ cards. 

Sucy laughed. “Oh, it was great! I think I poisoned one of the judges…” 

* * *

The next three games went almost the same as the first. Akko won the second and fourth game pretty swifty against a girl who said her name was Chloe—she was kind of mean about losing—and then a sweet, plump girl named Jasmiska, who used way too many  _ food- _ tokens in her repository. The third game was a little shaky against a silent girl named Constanze, who beat Akko in game two with her usage of robot creatures. But Akko managed to pull through in game three with a lucky draw. 

Akko was excited to learn that both Lotte and Sucy managed to make a clean 2-0 for their three next games as well. 

And then game five happened. The final game of preliminaries. 

Diana Cavendish walked up to Akko’s table.  _ Diana Cavendish walked up to Akko’s table.  _ Diana Cavendish sat down, and pulled out a  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ deck of cards. 

Akko’s eyes bulged, and she almost fell out of her chair. “Diana?!” she asked incredulously. When Diana said nothing, Akko remembered that she had declared them enemies only a week and a half ago. 

Akko sniffed. “Fine. Don’t talk. But get ready for me to kick your ass.”

They shuffled their repositories and the game began.

Diana’s play style wasn’t anything special. The only thing that Akko could glean about Diana from the cards on the table was the fact that she liked the Unicorn-type creature. That proved a difficult obstacle for Akko to deal with, and she had only so many copies of  _ turn to rock  _ in her repository. Soon enough, she was overwhelmed with the mythical horses.

Game one was a loss for Akko. 

While she watched her life total dwindle down to zero, all Akko could think about was what Diana had said that day.

_ A distraction from life. _

_ What the hell is she doing, then?  _ Akko screamed internally.

“Cut?” Diana prompted. It was the first word that the girl had said to Akko at all when they started playing.  _ Cut  _ referred to letting the other player split the deck in two at the beginning of the game, putting the top half on the bottom. It was a security against cheating. They had done this wordlessly at game one. Diana was probably only speaking to get Akko’s attention.

_ Yeah, she doesn’t want to talk or anything. Of course not. I don’t want to talk to her either.  _ Akko moved her hand to “cut” Diana’s repository. Diana did the same to Akko.

And thus began game two.

Akko actually had a head-start in the game, revealing  _ Shooting Star _ , which was an artifact card that gave all of her creatures  _ speed _ , an ability that allowed her to quickly dispose of Diana’s unicorns before they could get rid of hers. 

She managed to build up an army of goblins and fairies, which were small creatures that created copies of themselves when they entered the battlefield. Victory was in her grasp.  _ Suck on it, Diana! _

But out of nowhere, Diana pulled out  _ Ancestor’s Power _ . That was a mythical card that allowed all of her creatures to be copied over and over again, at the price of a lot of the user’s life total, bringing Diana down to one. Not only that, but the creatures themselves would be sacrificed at the beginning of the next turn.

Akko had already been struggling at the tail end of that game, and she too was at a single health point. To make sure Akko couldn’t do anything, Diana played  _ Dream Fuel Spirit _ , which tapped as many of Akko’s Sorcerer’s stones equal to the number of tapped Sorcerer’s stones on Diana’s side of the field. And then it untapped that many of Diana’s.

Case and point, Akko was rendered powerless.

_ Oh. That’s how I ended up here,  _ Akko thought. 

It was a swift end for Akko, and she lost her final round 0-2.

As Diana got up from her seat to report the score, Akko never felt more disabled.

* * *

Akko stared at the tournament’s paper like it was a dear friend who had betrayed her. She couldn’t find her name in the elimination bracket. 

“Ohh! Looks like I won our little wager, Akko!” Sucy jeered at a glum Akko.

“Sucy, Leave her alone.” Lotte said, despite her grin. She had somehow broke to octofinals. Sucy had too, and Akko was only feeling worse by the minute.

Sucy shrugged. “I guess it is a little unfair. You lose one game and you don’t break? This tournament is a little cutthroat.  _ I like it _ .” 

Akko sighed. “Yeah...have fun tomorrow, guys…”

“You’re not coming?” Lotte spoke incredulously.

Akko looked at her lap. “No, I don’t feel like it…” she had a feeling that another one of her  _ bad days _ was coming up.

Out of the blue, the door the Luna Nova opened up. “Oy! Cav! We’ve got soccer practice in a hot 30 minutes! Get yer ass out here!”

Akko’s head shot up. She knew that voice. Shoving her wheelchair around, she ignored a grunting Sucy and an “ _ ouch! _ ” from Lotte. Diana, who had been congregating near the door, joined the owner of the voice as they walked out. Rolling through the crowd of people, Akko burst through the door, panting from the arm exercise.

The firelike redhead American was standing in a soccer uniform, impatiently tapping her foot.  _ Amanda. _

Akko stared, open mouthed. Amanda had been one of her closest friends before the accident, and it was her absence that hurt the most. She had been a transfer student from the states who took over the soccer field and rivaled Akko. 

And  _ Diana Cavendish  _ joined  _ Amanda _ swiftly. “Are you ever going to learn to call it football, Amanda?”

Amanda laughed. “Hell no. I hate football.”

And then the two of them walked over to a car, driving away into the city.

Akko felt something twist in her gut.

* * *

On the car ride home, when asked about the tournament, Akko said it was ‘fine’ and she felt ‘okay’ and that her mom ‘shouldn’t worry’. 

When she went to bed that night, she hated not being able to move her legs more than ever.


	2. Mulligan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko tracks down Amanda to ask her a question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda hate this chapter, but my beta says it's ok, and uh, well. Here it is. We need a beta reader appreciation day

** Mulligan **

_ Amanda was hot on Akko’s tail, chasing her down the soccer field. They had started this little one on one during recess, and the rest of the team was cheering loudly, a mix of “Akko!”s and “Amanda!”s battling to be the loudest cry. _

_ Akko used her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, not moving her eyes from Amanda’s goal. She grinned. This was what she lived for. The wind whipping past her face, and the splat her shoes made as they hit the muddy, fertile ground.  _

_ “Akko! I’m coming for you!” Amanda jeered in impressive Japanese. Akko didn’t look back while she fired off a retort.  _

_ “You’re certainly coming after me, but can you catch up to me?” She said between huffs and puffs. Amanda always pushed Akko to her limit. And soon enough, Amanda was right in front of Akko, and the two began a little tango of ‘who can keep the ball’ that was full of misdirection, back passes, and step overs. _

_ Akko always had a bit more finesse with that, being able to squirm her way around with a ball like a ‘mouse’ as she was often referred to by Amanda and her teammates.  _

_ “Just give me the damn ball already!” Amanda yelled in frustration. _

_ Akko smirked, knowing that she had checkmated Amanda, and broke off with the ball to score. “Akko! Akko! Akko!” Everyone cheered. _

Akko woke up with a start, rubbing her eyes as she looked at the glaring computer screen on her lap.  _ Blytonbury v Glastonbury on sunday! _ was written boldly on the school’s home page. Akko took that information in dully as she looked at the computer’s clock. 

_ 3:00, damn.  _ Akko closed the computer and put in on the side of her bed, falling into a now dreamless sleep.

* * *

The sun broke through the folded blinds, shining light into Ursula’s dusty office. Akko was sitting on the grey couch across from her therapist while her wheelchair was folded up against the wall. The Japanese girl had started going to this office almost immediately after she moved, and while it took some getting used to, Akko had learned to trust Ursula. 

The brunette idly twirled a pen in her hands, lost in thought. Silences like these weren’t uncommon in Ursula Callistis’s office, and Akko’s dark haired therapist never seemed to mind. Akko was grateful for that. It allowed her to carefully mull over her words and gather her thoughts, because despite the fact that a therapy session was a completely safe space, Akko had never gotten entirely comfortable with sharing just anything. 

But they had to make some sort of progress, and a few seconds later, the young woman spoke up. “Shall we go through the checklist?” 

The ‘checklist’ referred to a rough plan of action that the two would follow each meeting they had in case Akko didn’t have any immediate developments or just couldn’t find the energy to talk. They usually started with something like family life, and then school life, maybe a conversation about  _ Chariot _ —Akko had been thrilled to learn that Ursula also played the game, if not as often as she—and then most of their sessions would revolve around  _ How do you feel about your body, Akko? _

It seemed like this would be one of those sessions, because Ursula caught the flinch Akko made when she asked that question. “Akko…?” Her tone was questioning, but like always, there wasn’t any pressure.

Another pattern that their scheduled meetings followed was that Akko would often go on random tangents. “There was a  _ Chariot  _ tournament at Luna Nova yesterday. I went with Lotte and Sucy.” 

Ursula nodded, not missing a beat at the random subject change. The more Akko opened up, the better. “You’ve never been to a tournament before, right? How was it?”

Akko breathed in. “It was…… it went pretty well, I guess. I made it 4-1, which didn’t let me break for some reason. That sucks. But Lotte and Sucy broke, and they’re competing today, actually. So, I mean, it’s not all bad.” She forced a smile. Ursula nodded, gesturing for her to continue. 

“Anyways, at the end of the tournament, something happened. I saw Amanda.” Her voice broke into a mumble.

Ursula quickly checked her notes. “Amanda… is she… uh, sorry.” the young woman smiled with embarrassment. “Who is she?”

Akko didn’t take offense. She hadn’t talked or really even thought about Amanda in the years she had been missing from her life. So it was perfectly understandable that Ursula wouldn’t know her.

“She used to be my friend, back in Japan. Before all of this.” Akko gestured to her chair. “We were sort of rivals on the soccer field, and we pushed each other to improve. We hung out after school, and I even helped her improve her Japanese. But…” She took another deep breath, steadying herself.

“Like the rest of the soccer team, she ignored me after I got out, and I don’t know why. Everyone else I could have dealt with in time, but her...I don’t know, Ursula. Maybe she thought I wasn’t worth it anymore, or that she thought she was too cool to hang out with…  _ someone _ like me. I wanted  _ so badly  _ to ask her why, but then she had to go back to the states before I got the chance.” Akko hiccuped, her eyes going hot with the threat of tears.

Despite everything, Ursula made a small smile. “Akko...do you want a hug?”

“Y-yeah…” 

When Ursula got up to embrace Akko, the girl leaned into her touch, letting her tears fall silently. It wasn’t that long of a hug, but it felt like forever for both of them. At the end of it, Akko smiled bravely through tears. “Thank you, Ursula.”

Urusula shook her head. “No, thank you, Akko. Thank you for letting me be part of such a powerful moment. Now, is it ok if I ask you a question? If you don’t want to talk for the rest of our time, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Akko wiped her tears. The hug helped her confidence, if only just a tad. “No, no, ask away.”

Despite the confirmation, Urusla was still hesitant. “Akko...do you still want to ask Amanda why she left without saying anything?”

Akko flinched. Ursula’s eyes widened, and she mentally admonished herself for rushing into things. But her fears were alleviated soon after when Akko answered. 

“I… I think so? I mean, I do, but what if she doesn’t remember me? I’ll be like ‘Amanda, It’s me, Akko! I’m your old pal from Japan!’ and she’ll be like, ‘Who are you? How do you know my name? Get the hell away from me, you creep!’ and I won’t have another shot at asking her anything ever.” Akko’s eyebrows were scrunched together, like they did whenever she would imitate someone.

Ursula’s eyebrow rose. Akko only imitated somebody like that when she was in a good mood, which meant that either the hug worked wonders, or that her memories of Amanda were very fond indeed. That settled it in Ursula’s mind. 

“Well, you remembered her, right? I’d say there’s a really good chance that she would remember you as well.” Ursula smiled reassuringly. “Especially if you two were as close as it seems you were.”

Akko contemplated that. “I mean, I guess...but how do I even find her? It’s pretty hard to sneak up on people with a ride like that.” She said glumly, pointing her finger at her chair.

Ursula looked at her notes for a minute. “Hmm...I’m assuming that she’s on Blytonbury’s football team?”

Akko gave her a weird look. “No, she’s on the soccer team—wait.” Akko laughed meekly with embarrassment. “Yeah. Football.” Even if  _ football _ , or the direct Japanese translation of it, was officially used in Japan, the ball sport was still commonly referred to as the translation of  _ soccer.  _ The habit of calling it  _ soccer  _ only got harder to break when Amanda came along.

Ursula gave another smile that told Akko it was fine. “Well, if I remember from a couple visits ago, you’ve been wanting to go to a football game...well, you said that was at the back of your head or something. If you wanted, it would be possible to kill two birds with one stone. Just catch her after the game and I’m sure it’ll go fine! But if that seems a little too daunting, we don’t need to move that quickly.”

Akko found herself actually nodding in agreement. That wasn’t the  _ worst  _ idea, and she  _ had  _ been wanting to go out onto the field for a while now. Maybe this would be good. And wasn’t there something that was coming up...something related to— 

“Oh!” Akko exclaimed. Ursula, who had been watching the gears turn in Akko’s head, jumped at the sudden expression. 

“ _ There’sagametoniiiight! _ ” Akko pumped her fist in the air, radiating a spontaneous energy that only she could give off. “I remember!”

Akko had been on her computer late at night after the  _ Chariot _ tournament, where she found herself waking up in the middle of the night. She had been looking at the school’s web page for any updates on the football team. She had done this in self-pity, trying to feel angry or sad or  _ something _ .

It didn’t work.

But now, in her elevated mood, she was very happy to know that sort of information. Ursula was cautious, however. “Akko, are you sure you want to do this so soon? It’s a lot to try and accomplish when you only just saw Amanda yesterday. You don’t have to—” 

Akko clapped her hands together. “I’ve made my decision, Ursula!  _ This is gonna be great!” _

* * *

Akko’s parents were just as happy, albeit confused as to the suddenness of the decision to go to the game. Why now of all days, her father asked. Akko just smiled at him, and he didn’t push it because he was so relieved to see his daughter this happy again.

Akko’s mother was a different story. Unlike Akko’s father, who had to work late again the night before, Akko’s mother had seen how badly the girl had felt last night. She feared that this sudden, rash decision would only cause Akko more pain. She expressed this, but Akko insisted that she would be fine, and that  _ it was just a soccer game, Okassan.  _ In the end, she relented, even if she felt a little skeptical.

The day passed oh so slowly. But it was only a matter of time, and around 17:30, Akko and her mother rolled her way up the ramps for a front row seat in the Blytonbury v Glastonbury football game. She felt her heart pound loudly in her chest when she laid eyes on the grass, green with streaks of white that almost looked like glistening snow in the evening. The goals stood proudly on either side of the field, gleaming in the light of the stadium's lamps. Akko gripped her wheels with anticipation, a tick that she’d picked up through the years. Oh man, to run through the field, hair waving in the wind as she chased a checkered ball into a goal— 

_ Oh. Yeah.  _ Akko was suddenly brought back down to earth, painfully slammed into her wheelchair. 

_ Okassan was right. _

* * *

When the game started, her mood hadn’t exactly lifted, but watching all of the players walk out onto the field was a good distraction. 

Blytonbury’s uniform was a midnight purple that had gold vertical stripes that went under the player's number. It was simple and elegant, at least to Akko. Glastonbury’s outfits had a much similar design, with a sky blue replacing the purple and white for the stripes.

That was where the similarities ended, however. While Blytonbury had a range of soccer-friendly hairstyles, from french braids to side swept ponies, Glastonbury  _ only _ had top knots. Uniform hairstyles weren’t unheard of, but that combined with the robotic way Glastonbury’s team walked onto the field, it made them sorta intimidating. 

But Akko wasn’t staring so intensely at the soccer field to analyze the psychological impact of player hairstyles. There was someone she was looking for...

_ Amanda.  _ Akko’s eyes rested on the girl, and it was almost like she was 14 again, about to go up against her rival with everything she had.

The American strutted confidently onto the field, a signature smirk resting on her face. Her hair glowed in the light, emerald eyes flashing. Akko almost smiled.  _ She hasn’t changed one bit.  _ Akko gripped her wheels again, wondering how Amanda’s maneuvers might have changed throughout the years. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. 

Akko’s thoughts came to a screeching halt when she saw who came out next.  _ Diana Cavendish.  _ Her demeanor was as confident as Amanda’s, but unlike the redhead, Diana’s walk gave off a certain coolness. She wasn’t here to have fun. She was here to win. Her hair was pulled up into a high pony, and Akko seethed, because she pulled it off so  _ well _ too— 

_ What?  _ Akko shook her head. She wasn’t here because of Diana, she was here to talk to Amanda again. Ripping her eyes away from the blonde, Akko’s eyes went to the center of the field where the coin toss was happening. Not surprisingly, Amanda was Blytonbury’s representative, because of course she would be.

Blytonbury lost the toss. Akko remembered fondly that Amanda always lost coin tosses, and she wasn’t about to start winning them.

The game started off aggressively. Well,  _ Amanda  _ started out aggressively, at the very least. Since she kept her eyes on the American, Akko couldn’t tell how the rest of Blytonbury and Glastonbury were doing unless another player crossed Amanda’s path. It was still very entertaining, watching her hog the ball like Akko knew she would.

But it wasn’t like Amanda hadn’t grown, not at all. Akko almost cheered when she saw how Amanda had grown in her ball-handling techniques. She had seemed to master the art of deception, pulling off fake shots and step-overs and other ways to keep the ball from other players. Even if those  _ other players  _ happened to be her own teammates.

All her weaving and spinning down the field towards Glastonbury’s goal ended up being for naught in the end, however. Amanda’s kicks were always deadly, and as she shot one off to score, it got blocked by the goalkeeper and flew out of bounds. Not only that, but Glastonbury’s goalkeeper crumpled to the ground in agony. Amanda stood there, scratching the back of her head, obviously sheepish. 

Her face twisted in anger when the injured player started yelling at Amanda. Amanda started yelling back, and when Diana walked up and started scolding her, she started yelling at Diana too.

Akko smirked.  _ It really is Amanda.  _

_  
_ The rest of the game went smoothly for Blytonbury and  _ goodness,  _ Amanda was actually a good passer when she was told to be a  _ team player _ for once. That was another place she grew as a player, it seemed. Akko decided to stop focusing too much on Amanda and she looked instead to Diana, and she was once reminded again of how  _ effortless  _ she made everything look. The way that she slipped through Glastonbury’s defenses, passing and receiving the ball like it was second nature. Akko clenched her teeth.  _ Why does she have to be so good? _

Akko hoped that Blytonbury would lose just to show at least one imperfection in Diana’s perfect shine.

* * *

  
  


Blytonbury had won. By a landslide actually. Diana and Amanda had made a deadly duo that Glastonbury had no way of countering, and they crumpled.

_ Diana and Amanda.  _ Akko’s bitterness suddenly slowed down to a defeat as she and her mother walked through the crowd where people were celebrating Blytonbury’s victory. A few curious stares followed her, but Akko didn’t care.  _ She doesn’t need me anymore. This was a bad idea. What did I think was going to happen anyways?  _ Ursula was right. She shouldn’t have tried this so soon. Hell, she shouldn’t ever try this again.

Akko was brought out of her funk when her wheelchair came to a halt. “Uh, mom? What’s up?”

Her mother walked around the chair, having been the one pushing it, to look her daughter in the eye sternly. “You’re upset.”

Alarmed that she had been found out so quickly, Akko waved her hands in front of herself in a panic. “Wh-what? No… no I’m not.”

“Don’t lie to me. I’m your mother, I’m supposed to know when you’re upset. This whole thing was a mistake, wasn’t it?” Her mother crossed her arms.

Akko flinched. “N-no... no, I had fun!” She forced a smile through her mucky thoughts, trying to draw from the good feelings she had while she watched Amanda play. It seemed to work, because a second later, her mother’s gaze softened. 

“Akko...I’m sorry that we weren’t able to talk to your friend today.” Her mother said quietly. With Akko’s permission, Ursula had told Mrs. Kagari what Akko’s  _ true  _ motive was for going to the game. Well, one of them, at least. The big one.

Akko sighed, giving up her facade. “It’s...it’s ok. At least I know that Amanda goes to Blytonbury like I do. That’s...that’s really all I was upset about. Not being able to talk to her, that is.” Not the full truth, but Akko couldn’t explain how she actually felt. “I had fun watching the game, though!” At least that part was true.

Akko’s mother breathed out and smiled. She was satisfied...for now. “Ok. Akko, I’m gonna use the bathroom, think you can handle being outside for a while?”

Akko shrugged. “Actually, would it be okay if I got something from concessions? It’s not that far, and I’m kinda hungry.”

Her mother almost refused, but as she stared into her daughter’s defeated, tired eyes, she relented. “You’re sure it’s not that far? Your phone isn’t dead?”

Akko nodded, eyes shining just a little bit. Her mother laughed, then said “Stay safe, ok?” as she walked towards a group of public houses near the school. Akko waved, and began the trek for the concession stand.

Approximately one millisecond later, Akko realized how bad of a decision she made. The crowd of people was a giant, roaring dragon, and she was the disabled heroine who the dragon had picked as its next meal.

_ Ok,  _ Akko thought, slapping her hands on her cheeks to keep her cool.  _ I’ll go around, until I get as close as I can to the concession stand. From there I’ll... _ Akko’s plan fell apart in her head.  _ I’ll figure it out.  _ And so, gripping the cool rim of her wheels, Akko began the  _ real  _ trek for the concession stand. 

It began with a lot of bumps, as the mini-victory party that was happening was on the parking lot and its broken tar. She had to ignore more stares, which, while she never got completely used to them, she had been able to tune them out at least a little bit. Still, she decided to circle around further from the crowd, lest someone ask why a 16 year old girl in a wheelchair was out at night by herself.

This strategy worked for all of 30 seconds. 

“Atsuko Kagari.” a snotty, mean voice spoke sharply from the dark. Akko tried to ignore it, not knowing where it came from, but as she moved to turn her wheels to get out of there quickly, the rubber broke.  _ Again.  _

Akko swore.

The owner of the voice revealed themselves from the darkness, and they had a companion. “Why do you think you have the right to come here?” They— _ she _ , Akko realized, remembering the voice—snarled.

The Japanese girl almost rolled her eyes. “Hannah, I don’t have time for this right now. Leave me alone.” She decided that she would just call her mom to fix her wheel.  _ God  _ she needed a new chair.

Back in the present, the dark-haired girl looked enraged. “I’m Barbara! Not Hannah! At least have the decency to learn our actual names! Why can’t you get even that right?”

_ Many reasons, actually.  _ Akko snarked in her head. Outside, however, she tried to maintain a look of disinterest.

The other one— _ Hannah _ —pushed Barbara off to the side, much to the girl’s dismay. She leaned down close to Akko, glaring into her crimson eyes. Akko glared back. “Why are you here,  _ Kagari _ ?” Hannah growled.

Akko shrugged. “What? Can’t a girl enjoy a school  _ soccer  _ game?” she was careful to put emphasis strategically on that word, aiming for maximum piss-off on Hannah. She smirked when the girl’s teeth clenched visibly. Other than that, Hannah didn’t rise to the bait.

Hannah slammed her hands down onto Akko’s wrists, gripping them so that Akko was immobilized. Akko’s eyes widened in a sudden, possessive fear. “Not you.” Hannah spoke, digging her nails into Akko’s skin. The brunette struggled, but it was no use.

Hannah continued. “Not here. I don’t understand you much at all, Kagari. I don’t understand how you can come here and  _ enjoy  _ something you can’t take part in. I don’t like you much at all, to be frank.” she smiled nastily.

Barbara brushed herself off from beside the girl. “Yeah, Kagari? Why can’t you mind your own buisness and play that stupid game you like?” She was frowning unpleasantly, like she had smelled something bad. 

Akko winced at the pain from Hannah’s nails. “What...is it to you?”

Barbara sighed annoyingly, like Akko didn’t get it. “Just stay away from Diana, ok? She doesn’t need you in her life. She’s got a lot going on, and you’re a disturbance in that.”

Akko’s tone was bitter. “I’m a disturbance to Diana? What does Diana have to do with anything?”

Hannah leaned in closer, so that Akko could almost feel the other girl’s breath. “You shouldn’t have come, Kagari, so we’ll let you off with a warning. But don’t come back. Stay. Away.”

Akko didn’t respond, only continuing to silently glare at the girl.

“Hey, England! Parker! What do you think you are doing?” Amanda O’Neill’s angry voice snarled suddenly from behind Akko. Looking annoyed, Hannah rolled her eyes and released the girl.

“Just leaving, O'Neill. Come on, Barbara. Let’s find Diana, or something.” Hannah said, grabbing Barbara by the hand. With two identical snobbish sniffs in Akko’s direction, the pair walked back towards the crowd. 

Amanda cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “and stay away, assholes!”

Once they were gone, Amanda whirled around to look at Akko. “I’m so sorry about that. They’re both friends of one of my best friends, so I’ve been forced to tolerate them. Yelling like that damn good actually. I’ve been meaning do that for a while, and I—”

Amanda paused, looking the other girl up and down. Her eyes widened with the realization that Akko was so afraid Amanda wouldn’t have come to.

“ _ Akko?! _ ”

Akko grinned weakly. “Hey, Amanda.”

“Like, Akko Kagari?  _ Atsuko Kagari? Kagari Atsuko? _ ” Her voice was rising every second she spoke.

Akko nodded. “All of the above, Amanda.” She said her name again because she still couldn’t believe that Amanda was here, that they were talking, and  _ Amanda had saved her from Hannah. _

The American was jumping up and down now. “What are you doing out here alone? Don’t you have like, a parent or someone to help you get places? You could have gotten hurt!  _ And then you really did get hurt, shit.  _ If only I had been here sooner, oh man—”

Her voice died at Akko’s raised hand. “In my defense, I thought it was gonna be quick. My mom’s in the bathroom, and I just wanted a concession. Like a cookie or something.” 

Amanda grinned. “Coincidence, huh? I’m heading there now! How’s about we get you a cookie and then catch up?”

Akko smiled nervously. She would get her chance finally, and ask Amanda why she did...what she did.

* * *

On a tucked-away bench, chocolate from the cookie melted in Akko’s mouth, and she hummed happily despite everything. This seemed to give Amanda the courage to ask a single question. 

“What happened when I left, Akko?” Amanda patted Akko’s wheelchair, so it was obvious what she wanted to know.

_ Everything. Life happened.  _ “Nothing really.” Akko smiled fakely through bites of chocolate chunk. 

Not one to read rooms, Amanda moved on with the conversation quickly, wheelchair forgotten. “I’m sure  _ something  _ happened. Did you see me on the field today? I was basically the star of the show. You know, I really improved since we were 14, Akko. and if that goalkeeper at the start hadn’t been such a baby, it would have been even more—”

“Why didn’t you do anything, Amanda?” Akko spoke quietly.

Amana turned. “What?” although the way her voice cracked on the  _ t _ tipped Akko off that she knew what Akko was talking about. “What do you mean?”

“When I left the hospital, back when we were 14, you ignored me. Like I didn’t exist. Why, Amanda?” Despite the fact that she wanted to patch things up with the girl, she couldn’t keep the anger out of her voice.

Amanda went quiet. “Akko… I don’t… I don’t know, Akko.”

“Bullshit. You weren’t that type of person, and I would like to think you’re still not.”  _ Unless I was wrong, and Amanda really just forgot about me. That’s probably it. I should go. _

Amanda gulped. “Akko, can we just move past that? We’re here now, and that’s what counts, we should—”

“ _ Move past my goddamn life? What the hell Amanda, don’t ignore the question!” _ Akko growled.

Amanda flinched. She deserved that, she knew. “Akko…”

“ _ What.” _

Taking a deep breath in and exhaling, Amanda looked into Akko’s eyes. “I’m really sorry. For leaving without saying anything, for ignoring you and everything. I just… it was strange, you know? Everything about our friendship would have been different. We were brought together because of soccer, and when you couldn’t walk...I didn’t know what to do. You showed up at school in this huge chair and I was scared, because I thought I lost my best friend in Japan, Akko. I didn’t think there was anything we could do together anymore.”

Akko was incredulous. “What? We did  _ everything  _ together, Amanda! Like you said, we were best friends! There’s a world outside of soccer that we shared! Why—”

“LOOK! Akko, I’m sorry for abandoning you, okay! I didn’t forget! I was just…” Amanda shook. “I was just so, so  _ scared.  _ The rest of the team felt the same, or didn’t care. But I...I’m a coward, you know that? I think I’m  _ all that  _ and I’m  _ not.  _ I’m...I’m sorry.”

Akko was shocked, to say the least. Amanda wasn’t the vulnerable kind, not in the least. “Amanda…” she reached over to hold the other’s hand. 

Akko gave a small smile. “It’s okay. A lot changed for me too. I...I get it. You hurt me when you left, but thank you for telling me all this. Do you...do you want to try to become friends again?”

Amanda’s emerald eyes were glimmering with tears. “Oh, Akko...I would like that a lot.”

Akko gave off her first Akko-certified smile to Amanda in years. “Okay! So, there’s this little coffee shop called Luna Nova, you’ve been there before, I think. Just meet me there next weekend!”

* * *

Over a game of  _ Chariot _ , Lotte was explaining to Akko about how she dropped out right away in octofinals— _ so don’t feel bad about not breaking, ok? _ —and how Sucy had only made it to semis— _ the guy got a lucky draw, and I was source-flooded the whole game, so don’t blame me! _ —when Amanda O'Neill burst through the door of Luna Nova. 

“Akkooooo! I’m here!” and her gaze landed on a terrified Lotte, annoyed Sucy, and—megawatt smiling Akko. 

And they were playing the nerd game that Diana loved so much. “Ugh. don’t tell me the reason you wanted me here was to try out—”

Akko interrupted the girl with a laugh. “Yup! Get down over here and play  _ Chariot: The Believing _ ! You’ll like it, I promise!”

Sucy chimed in. “Yeah, O'Neill. From Akko’s description of you, I think you could use the mental exercise.”

Amanda, for her part, was enraged. “What the hell? I don’t even know you!” She glared at Sucy, who simply shrugged.

But she sat down, anyways, and learned the sacred ways of  _ Chariot.  _

“Ugh!” Amanda roared with frustration about 10 minutes later. “I don’t understand this! What the hell are Sorcerer stones and why are there so many?” she dropped her cards onto the table and gripped her hair angrily.

While Sucy and even Lotte looked like they were at their wit’s end, Akko was expressing an uncommon wealth of patience for her old friend. “Amanda, I told you. Sorcerer’s stones are the things that allow you to cast your spells. Without them, you can’t really play the game, so of course there is going to be a lot.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “But that’s not all! Why do you need an upkeep step if you never use it? Why is it so important to untap before you draw? Why does a spell count as a creature?”

Sucy was actively banging her head against the table now, and Lotte was forcing a smile, her eyes twitching.

But Akko only giggled at her friend’s antics. “I mean...when you say it like that, it seems complicated I guess.”

“IT IS COMPLICATED!” 

And this banter continued to repeat for a little longer. But as Amanda continued for Akko’s sake, she found out that yes, it wasn’t that  _ complex of a game _ , when you got past the pedantancy. And Akko was thrilled to see that Amanda was actually developing a certain playstyle: she used the ability  _ flight _ , particularly with the  _ broom  _ artifact, in order to avoid being attacked by anyone else’s creatures.

Sucy said it was a cheap-ass strategy, and Akko agreed, but she was getting her old friend back, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

_ In trading card games, or just card games in general, the term ‘mulligan’ refers to discarding your hand and obtaining a new one, typically at the beginning of the game. It’s a second chance, in a sense. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vibes r back yay
> 
> DFTBA
> 
> Nathan Dripps


	3. Black Lotus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana: the Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make the best out of Diana's backstory
> 
> cookie clicker kept me company
> 
> enjoy

**Black Lotus**

Amanda walked over to the goal and picked up the ball from the broken grass it had destroyed upon impact. She spun it on her finger and smirked, because doing that was always  _ pretty damn cool _ every time. But her smirk dropped into a scowl as she saw Diana Cavendish’s expression. The blonde was staring at her condesentedly with a single eyebrow raised.

“Oh, come  _ on,  _ Cavendish. Not even a little impressed?” Amanda challenged.

Diana was indifferent. “You tend to show off that little trick every chance you get. It’s nothing impressive for  _ you  _ at the very least. What would be impressive  _ and valuable _ of your time would be to practice skills on the field that you struggle with. Like your arrogant persistence to keep the ball to yourself when you receive it.”

Amanda scoffed. “Psh! Like I need my ‘ _ teammates.’ _ It’s best just to give me the ball early on and let the best player carry the rest of the game, Cav. It’s really the safest strategy, y’know.”

Diana’s eye twitched slightly, and her fists curled at her sides. O’Neil always did this to her, but nonetheless, she kept her cool. “O’Neill. As your teammate, I would very much appreciate it if you worked on passing and team maneuvers. As your  _ friend _ , I would like you to do those things so the rest of the team can learn to trust you.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Quit calling the kettle black, Diana. You also like to take the wheel and keep it to yourself. Like that game two weeks ago? It was just me and you playing for team Blytonbury. We kinda danced the night away, and the rest of the team was watching.”

No matter what Diana thought of as a retort, she had to admit that Amanda had a point. That was one way that she and the other girl were alike. They wanted to  _ win  _ with a swift and powerful attack, and that mentality had caught up to Diana in the heat of the moment in Blytonbury v. Glastonbury. 

When she finally spoke up, her voice broke. “W-well, I’m also trying to improve. The difference between you and I is that I try to  _ help  _ the rest of the team improve  _ with _ me outside of every game. I strongly advise you do the same, O’Neill.”

Amanda shrugged, and carrying the ball under her arm, the two walked out of the football field they were practicing in. The night was dark and cool, but it was how they liked it. Over the few years since they had met, they’d had many late-night practises much like this one. Diana had found them quite enjoyable, and for the first time, she found a  _ true  _ friend that she trusted with all of her thoughts and ideas. Amanda was often annoying, and found entertainment in pushing Diana’s buttons, but there wasn’t anyone that Diana trusted more.

The first time they had met was when Amanda had joined up with Blytobury’s football team after moving to England. Diana hadn’t really thought much of her at the time, only annoyed by how brash and loud the girl had been about wanting to be the captain. Diana hadn’t really seen Amanda as anything but a  _ new player.  _ That all changed when Amanda had stolen the ball from Diana during practice.

_ They would often do practises like these, splitting the team into a 5-on-5, with this time having Amanda sit out. The American had all but kicked and screamed in complaint, but that only made Diana more set on keeping her and her annoying face off the field.  _

_ That didn’t work in the end. Diana had been alone on her chase towards the opponents’ goal, and she almost scored when Amanda shot out in front of her in a flash, stealing the ball like lightning.  _

_ The entire team stopped to look at the girl, which Diana was sure was doing wonders for her ego. “You better stay on your toes, Cavendish,” Amanda jeered, dribbling the ball in the air. “An attack could come out of nowhere.”  _

_ Diana was actually angry—a real, raw, embarrassed kind of angry that she had not felt in years—and she spoke angrily back with indigniancy. “O'Neill! That was hardly necessary! You do realize you can practice somewhere else without interrupting our game, don’t you?” _

_ Amanda only smirked. “Nah, this is much more fun, Cav.” She kicked the ball towards Diana’s shins, causing the Cavendish heir to almost lose her balance trying to receive it.  _

_ “O’Neill—!” Diana yelled. _

But despite that somewhat unpleasant interaction, Diana had finally found a player that she could respect, a rival on the field. And as they practised together, Diana discovered someone she could trust—she even went as far as to tell Amanda about  _ Chariot.  _

_ “Seems like a nerd game, not gonna lie,” Amanda laughed as she picked up the cards from the table at Luna Nova. Diana only got even more flustered at that. _

_ “If you are just going to make fun of me for a pastime of mine, I’ll leave—” she began in a defensive voice. _

_ “Relax, relax!” Amanda set the cards down to look at Diana. “I think it’s really nice to know something like this about you. At first glance, it doesn’t fit you at all. But since I know you and we’re friends, I can’t imagine you  _ not  _ playing something like this.” And Amanda gave her a genuine smile—one not full of pride or meant to mock Diana.  _

That was when Diana got her first, genuine  _ friend.  _

Hannah and Barbara were... _ different.  _ They were friends in the sense that they followed her around at school, and they worked together often on projects, homework, and other assignments, but Diana had never felt like she could trust them the way she trusted Amanda. Diana  _ wanted _ to trust Hannah and Barbara like that, and they  _ wanted  _ her to trust them as well, but there was just something that was blocking Diana from actually  _ seeing  _ them as close friends.

Thinking back, Diana recalled the moment she knew that it would be  _ near  _ impossible for her and the two girls to become close. 

_ It had been a couple days after Bernadette Cavendish's death. Diana was in her room, mindlessly shuffling her  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ cards. This deck was special because it was one that she and her mother had worked on together. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, just another deck that focused heavily on Unicorns and Illusion spells. But Diana and her mother had so much fun making it together, and it was one of the last memories Diana had of them together. _

_ The door was suddenly rapped on, three firm, proper knocks reverberating through the door’s ancient wood. “Come in,” Diana’s dead voice spoke quietly. She didn’t stop shuffling her cards when the door opened.  _

_ “Diana…?” Hannah England’s voice sounded unsure, like she was testing the dangerous waters that were Diana Cavendish’s room. “Can Barbara and I...talk to you?”  _

_ Hannah and Barbara? Maybe Anna had let them in, or something. Diana didn’t want to see them now, so she didn’t care how they came in, only how soon they would leave. _

_ Diana wanted to say no, she never wanted to talk to anyone ever, but she had been taught that sometimes you needed to be polite even when you were sad or angry. So breathing in, she spoke just loud enough for the two of them to hear, “Yes, if you want to. But I have an appointment in a little bit.” A white lie. She wasn’t sure that she had anything, but Aunt Daryl had said that more and more tutors for various activities and skills would want to meet her very soon. She had said it was to ‘start repairing the Cavendish reputation by cultivating many talents in the youngest member of the household.’ _

_ “Okay. We’ll… keep it quick.” Barbara’s equally unsure voice spoke up from behind Hannah. They walked into the room and sat on Diana’s bed, which was a very far, uncomfortable distance away from Diana’s study, where the Cavendish was sitting, shuffling her cards. _

_ “Are you… doing alright?” Barbara asked, trying to break the ice. _

_ The question went unanswered, and the room was silent except for the repetitive  _ tap-tap  _ of  _ Chariot _ cards against Diana’s desk. It stayed like this for a while longer, until Hannah also tried her hand at making conversation. _

_ “What are you doing, Diana?” She asked, and despite how nervous she was to be in the presence of such a deadened version of her friend, the curiosity had managed to reach out of her voice and towards Diana’s ears. _

_ “Just shuffling cards.” was the three word response that drifted towards the two girls on the opposite side of the room. Hannah and Barbara jumped. Other than the initial greeting, that was the only thing the young Cavendish had said to them at all when they entered her room.  _

_ “Cards?” Hannah’s voice was hopeful now, begging for more conversation. “Why are you shuffling cards?” _

_ Diana knew that the other two deserved some interaction from her, even if she was nowhere near the kind of mood to talk to anyone. “It’s this card game I play.” She was careful to omit any information about her mother, because she didn’t want this to get more awkward than it already was.  _

_ “You play card games?” Barbara’s voice sounded betrayed, and really, she had every right to feel that way. Hannah, Barbara and Diana’s initial meeting had been one akin to an arranged marriage of friendship. Their families had known each other, and they had been introduced by each other’s parents and then told to ‘play together.’ Barbara and Hannah were really excited to meet the daughter of the famous Bernadette Cavendish, but Diana wasn’t one to share so many playtime habits she normally shared with her mother. _

_ Diana felt guilty for that. They didn’t deserve to be shut out like that when they just wanted to be  _ friends _ with her. So, putting on a brave face, she turned around and asked, “would you like to learn how to play it?” _

_And when she finished that sentence, her nine-year-old_ _soul felt so guilty in that moment when she was faced with the most eager grins she had ever seen while knowing Hannah and Barbara. Maybe she could learn to trust them and become actual friends, like they always had wanted to become._

_ But that wasn’t how things had turned out, unfortunately. _

_ Hannah and Barbara learned the basic rules of the game, but the first few games they played with Diana would be the last games they would ever play with her. _

_ They kept asking Diana which decision they should make every second they played.  _ Should I duel with this creature?  _ Hannah would pester Diana when she laid down a card.  _ Should I tap this Source-stone?  _ Barbara would say, almost scared to pick up any card without Diana to hold her hand. _

_ Even the way they played was augmented. When Diana started learning with her mother how to play  _ Chariot _ , they played with open-handed games first to get a feel. Diana did this for Hannah and Barbara, but they refused to play it normally from then-on-out, wanting Diana’s guidance all the way through. _

_ Diana was getting angry. She was a nine-year-old who had recently lost her mother and here she was, extensively teaching two people she didn’t really consider friends how to play the game that was special to her and her late mother.  _

_ But she had to be a big girl now. She had to, if she was going to inherit the Cavendish estate one day. So when Barbara asked if it was okay to draw a card again, Diana said firmly, “Let’s stop.” _

_ The other two looked shocked, and they knew it was their fault for not being independant of Diana. Diana’s eyes widened when they looked like they were going to cry, so she said, “This game is a waste of time.” _

_That was the biggest lie Diana had ever told. But she wasn’t about to lose two other people in her life. “_ Chariot: The Believing _isn’t a proper use of our time_ ,” _she said firmly_ _in a voice no nine-year-old should speak in. “I apologize for taking up an hour of yours. We should probably do something else...something that helps us grow.” Her voice was unsure as she quoted Daryl._

_ That seemed to satisfy the girls, and they lit up and smiled. “It’s okay Diana! But you’re right, we should be responsible! You’re so smart, Diana!” Hannah’s voice sang with new enthusiasm. _

_ When they finally left, Diana cried again, almost as strongly as she did on the day of her mother’s death. _

“—Cav? Cav? Diana?” Amanda was waving a plastic water bottle in front of her face. “Are you doing okay?”

Diana was suddenly shook from her reminiscing. “Yes, I am… okay. Is there something you need?”

Amanda shook her head in disbelief. “Man, why do you always get so lost in your head when we talk? Am I boring or something?” 

Diana’s eyes widened. Was she really thinking that long? “I apologize, Amanda. I just remembered something. And, erm, you are quite— _ fun  _ to be around, so please do not worry about that—”

Amanda roared with laughter. “Oh—! _O_ h, _man._ You actually apologized for that? Diana, you're fine. I know how _fun I am to_ _be around_ , thanks. But seriously,” her voice went stern for a moment. “You were kinda out of it for a good ten seconds, Cav. Somethin’ up?”

Diana shook her head. “Truthfully, no. Do you have anything planned this weekend?” She asked tentatively, knowing that wasn’t the smoothest way to change the subject. 

Amanda squinted her eyes with suspicion, knowing it too. “Me? Uh...well, yeah, actually. I bumped into an old friend at the Glastonbury game, and we’re doing a little more catching up. Actually—!” and Amanda’s smile widened like she had another one of her good ideas.

Diana knew from experience that that meant her idea was not  _ good  _ in the slightest. 

Amanda took a sip from her bottle. “She plays that same nerd game you play, actually. She actually taught me how to play just a bit ago, and uh, well, I just thought of it now, ‘course, but—”

Amanda took another quick sip. “Well, maybe you should meet her at the one cafe we’re going to, Luna Nova. you know, the one where I picked you up for soccer practice that one time?”

Of course Diana knew about Luna Nova. It was the closest, local coffee-and-games shop that had a wondrous expanse of  _ Chariot  _ cards. Diana would often make weekly escapades there to either buy cards to build a new deck or just to indulge in her secret life as a  _ Chariot  _ player. 

The tournament where Amanda had picked her up, she had actually broken to the second day after winning all of the preliminaries, but she chose not to go in order to practice for that day’s football game. 

“And,” Amanda spoke, a smirk evident on her face and in her voice, “she’s kinda… cute, just saying.”

Diana immediately flushed red. She had always been comfortable with sharing secrets and who she was with Amanda, but when she revealed her sexuality to the American, Amanda had made quick work of setting up dates or encounters with Diana and random girls that she happened to either come across and/or bribe.

“ _ Amanda O’Neill. _ ” Diana hissed. “That is far from necessary! I don’t understand why you deem it appropriate to mess with my romantic endeavors—” 

“Geez, Cav, you’re flipping out, calm down.” The grin on Amanda’s face told her that she was enjoying Diana’s  _ flip out _ , which in itself made Diana force a neutral look back onto her features. She would  _ not _ be made any more  _ entertaining _ to the other girl than she already was. 

By now they had walked out to the school’s parking lot, where their rides awaited. Amanda was being driven home by her dad, and Anna, a Cavendish maid, was going to be Diana’s chauffeur. 

“Well, whatever, Cav. Just thought I would mention it cause ya both play that one game or something. See you around, alright?” Amanda called to her as she opened her Dad’s passenger door.

Diana just waved stiffly. 

Getting into Anna’s car, she greeted her with a quiet hello.

Anna merely nodded, and asked, “Did Miss O’Neill treat you decently, Miss Cavendish?” Anna’s tone was always one of suspicion when it came to the redhead, never trusting Amanda even when they stated their late-night practices after school.

Diana made sure to smile. “Yes, Anna. She treated me…  _ decently _ , as you say. Try to trust her a bit more. She is my friend for a reason. But thanks for your concern nonetheless, Anna.”

The old woman smiled back. “Alright. I trust you had a good practice, then?”

Diana flinched. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened, yes, but  _ damn  _ O’Neil had made her dig up all sorts of old memories, even if she did that indirectly. That was just the kind of effect Amanda had on her, and why she was so keen on sharing all sorts of things she wouldn’t with anyone else. Truthfully, meeting Amanda made Diana realize just how many secrets she had that she had never shared with anyone.

Realizing that she was spacing out again, she quickly answered, “Yes, it was quite pleasant,” before Anna started to become concerned for the girl. But for the remainder of the ride Anna seemed content with not talking, and Diana was only then comfortable with being alone in her head. 

Before long, Diana’s thoughts wandered back to the mystery girl that Amanda had brought up. Diana had pointedly avoided asking for a name, because that would make it seem like she was  _ interested  _ and then Amanda would never stop hounding Diana about a potential date with whoever her old friend was.

But this girl apparently played  _ Chariot _ , which was something. Diana had only ever interacted with one person outside of Luna Nova, and that was Atsuko Kagari. Diana cringed, thinking about their first…  _ meeting.  _

Hannah and Barbara were very indecent towards Kagari, and Diana regretted not only refusing to stop their jeers towards the girl, but also adding on to the girl’s torment. But at the time, she remembered that as a Cavendish, she had a reputation to uphold, and that meant telling off Kagari for playing  _ Chariot _ . Diana was careful not to mention or acknowledge Kagari’s…  _ situation _ , but Hannah and Barbara were not holding back.

She did admonish them for that as soon as they were out of earshot from Kagari and Jansson, but what Kagari had said to her really stuck with her for the rest of the day.

_ Listen closely, Diana Cavendish. You have no right to comment about my life like that. We are not friends now, and you’ve just made it so we will never be. Get the hell out of my face. _

Diana had no idea  _ why  _ that comment shook her so much. It was a blatant declaration that Kagari hated her, but Diana being well-known meant that she was bound to make a few enemies. So  _ why  _ did she regret getting off on the wrong foot with Atsuko Kagari? Was it perhaps because she was a  _ Chariot  _ player, and it felt like Diana had betrayed one of her kin?

And then the tournament. Diana wasn’t one to lose out on a chance to grow, even in her secret life as a tcg player. So she signed up for the  _ Words  _ tournament at Luna Nova with no expectations.

And she  _ certainly  _ did not expect to see Atsuko Kagari at the tournament at all, which, in hindsight, was a naive assumption to make. Being in a wheelchair did not stop Kagari from challenging herself every day at school, a fact that Diana had gleaned from passive observation. The girl was loud, obnoxious, but  _ driven.  _ Of course she would go to a tournament.

And the way she played was… unconventional, to say the least. She obviously had a lot of knowledge of the game from the way her repository was designed and how she handled the cards. But in the end, it was her grudge towards Diana that impaired her judgment and allowed the Cavendish to steal a win. Diana knew this was why, because Kagari’s deck had all the tools to win, but her turns were quick and rushed and incomplete. 

Diana would have felt bad, but she wasn’t one to play like Kagari did. She played to win, and  _ only  _ to win. 

That used to not be the case, oh so long ago.

* * *

When Diana’s mother wasn’t able to get up from her bed anymore, the eight-year-old (“nine-in-two-months!” Diana would insist loudly to anyone who had the gall to call her something as lowly as just  _ eight _ ) and Anna went into the town to buy something for Bernadette Cavendish. A get-well-soon gift, as it were. 

They had been walking in and out of random shops, and Anna’s ever-infinite patience was pushed to its absolute  _ limit.  _

“Do you think mummy will want that nice hat?” an excited Diana practically screeched as she pointed at the  _ fifth _ sun hat they saw in a store window that afternoon.

“Let’s keep looking around, okay, Miss Cavendish?” Anna smiled, dragging a moaning Diana away from the glass pane.

“What about that  _ dress _ ! It’s so  _ pretty _ !” Diana cheered a moment later, face pressed against another window, breath condensing on the glass in excited puffs.

“Oh, you’re right, Miss Cavendish. It is very pretty. But I think that your mother already has worn a dress like that before at her wedding. Let’s check somewhere else for some _ thing  _ else, okay?” At this point, Anna had been getting a little impatient. 

But she was going to have to deal with it for a little longer, as Diana had dragged her around to almost every jewelry shop as well and begged for Anna to buy almost every expensive diamond at each location. Anna refused every time, but it was becoming harder and harder as Diana’s begging blue eyes began to work their magic on Anna.

But that finally ended when Diana ran— _ how can she have so much energy?  _ Thought a panting Anna—to a small coffee shop by the name of Luna Nova. 

This store window wasn’t displaying a wedding dress, a hat, or a 24-carat diamond this time. For that much, Anna was thankful. But she was perplexed as to  _ what  _ it was displaying.

Sitting proudly on a wooden stool was a box decorated with a bright, crimson red-headed woman in a white witch’s robes, and a glowing smile on her face.  _ Chariot: The Believing _ was written in an arc over her head in gold lettering. To the right and left of the woman were clear plastic windows that each housed a pack of what looked like cards. Underneath these were the words “starter deck” written in small white font. 

At the woman’s feet, in red lettering this time, was a message that said  _ Little Witch Academia: this package is designed for all of you future witches and wizards to learn the game with your family and friends! Remember! A believing heart—  _

“—Is your magic.” Diana breathed in wonder, finishing off the sentence. Noticing Anna next to her, her quiet attention disappeared like it hadn’t ever existed, and she began to beg to Anna “ _ Please can we get it, please?” _

Anna opened her mouth, about to make the argument to Diana that  _ do you want this for your mother, or for yourself? _ but stopped when she saw Diana’s expression.

There was only so much of Diana’s deep, sapphire orbs that any adult could be exposed to before crumbling.  _ And, _ Anna supposed,  _ it is a game that you can play with friends and family, so Lady Cavendish will still be given a gift of sorts, one that she can use to spend time with her daughter.  _ And Diana deserved something too. That expression she made upon reading the box of  _ Chariot  _ cards was so, so precious, and Diana is such a hard-working girl and—

Anna ended up buying the  _ Little Witch Academia  _ set and a booster box that cost her an extra 80 pounds.

Upon arrival to the Cavendish estate, Diana excitedly kicked off her shoes, grabbed the bag full of the  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ cards and was up the stairs before Anna had a chance to call out  _ We’re home! _

“Mum! Guess what—Mum?”

The older Cavendish was actually up, but she did not look well, she did not look well at all. Any gusto Diana had was instantly swept away with a sad glum look that took over her face whenever she saw her mother like this.

Bernadette was not keen on letting her daughter feel sad at all, so she quickly forced a smile. “Yes, Diana?”

Diana looked down, mood worsening by the second. “It’s… it’s nothing. I’ll tell you about it when you feel better.”

Bernadette shook her head, gesturing for her daughter to come over to her side. “It’s quite alright, love. Truthfully, I am only sleepy today. If you keep talking to me, I’ll feel more awake.”

That seemed to do the trick for Diana, and she smiled brightly again, jumping onto her mother’s bed— “ _ ah!”  _ Bernadette gasped, and Diana gave a quick-but-still-excited “ _ sorry! _ ”—and pulled the  _ Chariot _ box out from her bag. “It’s a game that Anna got for us!” Diana said happily. “Wanna try it?”

Bernadette eyed the box with apprehension. It looked pretty complicated like it would take a while to learn. “If you are okay with waiting before we actually play it. It might take awhile before we really understand it, my love.”

Diana nodded, humming with an excitement that told Bernadette she was  _ not  _ going to be okay with waiting in a few minutes.

And she wasn’t. Diana was actively moaning as the older Cavendish started explaining  _ the stack _ , a concept that dealt with the order of spells and activated abilities, whatever that meant. Bernadette was having a hard time understanding it herself, truth be told.

But all moaning and yawning ceased to come out of Diana’s mouth when she discovered that the game had unicorns in it.  _ Unicorns!  _ And with that,  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ became Diana's favorite games and one of the few ways that Bernadette Cavendish could still interact with her daughter.

But  _ Chariot  _ wasn’t where Diana’s interests ended. One day, the mother-daughter duo were sitting in the older Cavendish’s bed, having finished a game of  _ Chariot _ that Diana had won. The telly was playing a game of football, and then Diana felt a sudden  _ need  _ to play the game. She was eight-nine-in-one-week, so her attention was bound to wander.

So, on her ninth birthday, she got a football and a trainer, and Diana was now a nine-year-old footballer. It was actually that day when she met Hannah and Barbara, who had come over to  _ celebrate _ her birthday, but Diana was very cautious of them. But hey, she was everything she had ever dreamed she would be (according to her nine-year-old mind) and life couldn’t get any better.

So it got worse instead.

Bernadette Cavendish didn’t live to see her daughter’s tenth birthday, dying of her illness a month before. Diana didn’t touch  _ Chariot  _ or a football for three days.

But at her mother’s funeral, Diana brought the last  _ Chariot _ deck the two of them had worked on together. Why, she had no idea. It just felt… natural. Like it was something that she had to do.

From then on, however, life became a battle that she fought, and won against. She regained control of her life, but it was a  _ different  _ kind of control. It wasn’t a life she enjoyed, not really, just one she lived.

Diana became one of the most successful students in primary and secondary school. Aunt Daryl was the one who took over the Cavendish estate upon her sister’s death, and despite how much Diana despided the woman, she owed it to her and the many tutors that Daryl assigned to Diana for her educational success. 

It was at this point that Diana understood the importance of a good reputation. That meant that she had to excel at everything she could, to win at all costs, in order to gain good favor among her peers. She jumped ahead at maths, she mastered chemistry and physics, and even her football skills were perfected.

But Diana also gained a secret life. A  _ Chariot _ player. She sought victory there too, like a distorted way she could avenge her mother’s death despite having no fault in it, by playing their favorite pastime.

Diana opened the door of the car and walked to the threshold of the Cavendish mansion. She carefully slipped off her shoes at the door, and walked into the building.

“Ugh. Why do you insist on going on these escapades with O’Neill?” Daryl was there, ready to grumble and nag like she always did.

Diana ignored her—“Come back here this instant!”—and walked up the spiral staircase into her room. Closing the door to silence a complaint Daryl, she moved over to her desk and pulled out a few  _ Chariot  _ cards and fanned them out.

_ It’s still incomplete. Maybe I’ll agree to meet up with Amanda and her mystery girl, but I should get the rest of the cards for this first.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boring backstory is boring.
> 
> next chapter the plot starts
> 
> DFTBA 
> 
> Ya boi nate


	4. Commander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeah so commander has a rip-off as a format in this universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> raymond is overrated, fight me

**Commander**

Opening a brand new pack of  _ Chariot  _ cards always brought a sense of joy to Akko. Everything about it was just wonderful in its own right. The way that the plastic crinkled as she unwrapped one of the packs, and the feeling of the stiffness of the fresh, unplayed cards as she ran her fingers over them always made Akko smile. But the experience didn’t end there. While most packs weren’t exactly full of high-value cards, there typically was something new in every pack that would inspire Akko to build a completely new strategy.

Today, in the happily quiet opening hours of Luna Nova, however, she hardly made a second glance at the bland assortment of cards in her hands. Rolling her eyes, she passed the opened pack over to Lotte, who was open-mouthed at the sight of such a careless giveaway. “Akko?” she prompted, concern evident.

Amanda, who was standing next to Akko in a blue fleece sweatshirt, could also tell that this wasn’t something Akko normally did. “Nothin’ in that pack you can use?” Amanda asked with mild curiosity. She wasn’t paying too much attention, instead choosing to look at the door in a small fit of nervousness.

Akko shrugged. “Nah, there was  _ some  _ good stuff in there individually. I guess. I just… don’t need any of it at the moment, so it’s a bummer.” 

That statement confused Amanda enough to cause her to tear her gaze from the door to look at. “Uh, what? You don’t  _ need _ them?”

Sucy, who was lurking from behind the three with an espresso she got from the  _ coffee shop  _ portion of Luna Nova, decided to speak up. “It’s this weird thing that Akko does. She gets all focused on building a deck, and then gives the cards she doesn’t want for it to me or Lotte. It’s bad for her, but hey—” Sucy grinned, shark teeth shining, “I’ve been able to gather  _ several  _ game-breaking mechanics for decks thanks to Akko’s  _ generous _ donations.”

Amanda shivered.  _ Geez. There’s something about this girl… _

Whatever mild terror that Sucy had managed to instill in Amanda was wiped when Akko grumbled, “Sucy! You know that if I keep any cards when I’m trying to deck build, I won't be able to resist putting them into my deck!” 

Sucy sipped from her drink, a smug look settling over her features. “Isn’t that your fault, Akko?”

The girl in question glared up at Sucy. “Well, no, but... _ ugh.  _ Sucy!” Akko complained, balling up the plastic wrapping in her hand and throwing it at Sucy, who knocked it to the ground with her beverage.

Lotte, ever sweet as she was, tried to stop the weak conflict between her two friends. “Um, Akko… I think all that Sucy’s trying to say is that maybe if you keep the cards while you are…  _ hunting _ , it would help you when you try to build decks in the future.” She smiled weakly through coke-bottle glasses.

Sucy barked with laughter. “Oh—! That’s hilarious, Lotte. No, if anything,  _ keep  _ doing this, only more often! You should probably just give me all of your cards, really. I don’t think you know how to handle most of them…” Her sentence broke into a series of evil-sounding titters that only reinforced her status as Blytonbury’s teenage mad scientist. The second time that day, Amanda shivered from a mixture of fear and annoyance because of the girl.

But as the three continued bantering and arguing, Amanda found herself zoning out in inclusivity. Even if she wanted to become friends with Akko again, and one could argue that she  _ was _ , in a basic sense of the term, It was very clear that Sucy and Lotte had already replaced her in the Best Friends Department. Friendship with Akko now was going to be different than friendship with Akko when they were 14. 

Amanda only hoped Akko’s heart would be big enough for her old best friend, one day.

“Oy, you cleaning that up over there?” The voice was gruff and sounded like it belonged to somebody tired in the way that only somebody who did a whole lot of  _ nothing _ every day would be. Amanda was shaken from her thoughts, and her gaze was drawn towards the source of the voice.

The woman who was working the register to Luna Nova’s register looked bored, idly twirling a pair of flimsy chopsticks in a cup of ramen. Her face looked exhausted once she finished talking, like speaking was somehow an herculean task for her to carry out.

Akko didn't look up to respond to the woman’s voice, instead reaching for another pack of  _ Chariot  _ she had bought that day. “Yeah, yeah, Croix. What do you want from us? We’re paying customers, geez.”

The woman yawned into her palm. “No,  _ you’re  _ the paying customer, Akko. As far as I’m concerned, the rest of your friends here are loiterers.”

Amanda raised an eyebrow at hearing this woman call Akko by her name.  _ Another person in Akko’s life I don’t know about,  _ was the single thought that flicked through her mind, but she didn’t say anything.

Akko moaned, throwing down more cards in frustration. “It’s a coffee shop, and you forgot about the drink that Sucy brought anyways! Sometimes I don’t get why you bother to work here, Croix.”

Croix, for her part, waited to answer as she took a bite of her ramen. “Mhm..well.” She smacked her lips together obnoxiously. “Can I ask...what possessed you to buy so many packs today, anyways?”

Amanda had to admit, the woman’s skill to brush off snide comments was pretty smooth.

“Making a new Coven deck, actually.” Akko reported, and any annoyance towards Croix was replaced with focus as she teared into her next pack of cards. _Damn, I forgot about that part of Akko._ Amanda mused. _She never really stayed even a little annoyed at someone._

Amanda supposed that if Akko did, she would never let Amanda back into her life. 

Diana wasn’t coming to the shop anytime soon, it seemed. So reluctantly letting her gaze drop from the door, she asked, “Uh, what exactly is Coven? Another nerd game you guys play?”

Akko growled again into her cards. Obviously she wasn’t making any kind of progress in what cards she needed. “No. It’s still  _ Chariot _ , just a different format. It’s a pretty popular format, actually. I just never got around to making an actual deck for it.”

“Format?” Amanda tilted her head, clueless. It seemed every second she tried to understand more of the game, there was a ton more she didn’t know about.

But this tidbit of knowledge must have been commonplace among  _ Chariot  _ players, because the next second, Croix let out a loud bark of laughter like Amanda was just the biggest idiot ever. “Oh, oh  _ wow. _ A new player, huh?”

_ This woman…  _ Amanda was seething. “N-no! I’ve…  _ known _ about the game for a long time, geez!”

Croix merely laughed. “Well, since you’re so familiar with  _ Chariot,  _ I don’t need to tell you what Coven is, do I?” 

Before Amanda had a chance to respond, Lotte came to her rescue. “Well…  _ I  _ don’t, so if you could tell me about it, if you wanted to, Croix.”

The woman held her hand up, and the girls had to wait until she was finished slurping on her ramen for 5  _ very painful _ seconds. When she was done, she looked right at Lotte with a look of amusement. Obviously she knew that Lotte had said that in order to bail Amanda out. “Hmm… well, I guess I’ll introduce it to you, Lotte.” When she spoke, however, her head was pointedly turned in the direction of Amanda.

“Coven is a format where the repositories are 100, not 60, cards in total. 99 of those cards are part of the main deck, and one card is the  _ Coven Leader,  _ which is a witch-type creature that can be played multiple times. The type of magic you use in the deck has to match the Coven Leader, and other than basic Sorcerer Stones, you can only use  _ one of each card.  _ Other than that, it plays almost the same as normal  _ Chariot.  _ It’s popular because it forces the player to create a deck focused way more on synergy.” When she finished talking, Croix looked exhausted, like a teacher forced to give a lecture.

Amanda really didn’t follow that, and anything she  _ did  _ gather was immediately thrown away when Akko groaned the loudest she had that day into the next pile of cards she had ripped open.

“Christ, Akko. You sound like a damn dog. Quit moaning like that.” Croix’s exhaustion transformed into irritation.

Akko wheeled herself around away from the mess of Chariot cards behind her. “I’m  _ sorry,  _ Croix! I really am! I just can’t find the Pappiliodya card anywhere! And I ran out of  _ moneyyy _ ,” she complained.

Croix slapped her forehead in disbelief. “Wow, Akko. You know that Pappiliodya is of the  _ ancient myth _ rarity? You’re not going to find it by opening some packs at a coffee shop! Geez, you can be so dumb sometimes. And now you’ve gone and blown 25 pounds…” 

Akko looked like she was about to cry. “Ah… I’ll never be able to finish my  _ first ever _ Coven deck!” 

* * *

Croix was struggling. Damn were these kids  _ annoying _ . And of course Akko was staring at her with those eyes, those pleading eyes. Croix was not going to break  _ again,  _ she was  _ not— _

Akko’s eyes shined expectedly.  _ Oh, damn it.  _

“Fine. There’s this one place, Café Proprietor, a little ways in town. I know the guy who works there.  _ Apparently  _ they get a lot of the rarer cards in that shop, so you might…  _ might  _ find the Pappiliodya.” Croix growled through clenched teeth. Why did this girl do this to her?

“Thanks, Croix!” and Akko’s whiney mood gave way to her normal, cheery disposition.  _ A fox. Akko is a fox.  _ Croix clenched her fist, crushing the now-cold ramen cup.  _ Damn it all. _

Akko put her hands on her wheels and turned around to gather up the discarded Chariot cards. And then her face fell,  _ again,  _ probably remembering that she spent all of her money on the worthless quest to get the Pappiliodya card by playing the card pack roulette over and over again. 

But it must have been one of Akko’s luckier days, because before she started complaining about her lack of money, the new girl—Amanda—hastily jumped to speak. “Look, Akko, I’ll pay for the card. Or whatever.” And then Akko was once again shining megawatt smiles like it was Christmas. 

Croix turned away from the group of friends and began preparing another cup of ramen using the microwave she had under her desk.  _ At the very least, _ She thought mildly,  _ I’m not the only one thoroughly whipped by Atsuko Kagari. _

“Oh! Thanks so much Amanda! You’re the best! Now, Let’s go—!” Akko wheeled around to leave Luna Nova.

Lotte looked alarmed. “Wait—now? I..uh, can’t, Akko. Parents only wanted me to hang out here today, so...”

Beside her, Sucy sipped from the last of her drink. “Me too, I got a chem extra credit thing I wanted to finish, and it’s probably going to take the rest of the day.” 

Amanda clapped the back of Akko’s chair. “Well, looks like it’s just you and me then, old pal! Let’s uh… let’s get that card of yours, or something. Maybe we could get lunch or something on the way.”

Croix watched Akko try to maintain a look of annoyance, but she knew that the girl was secretly happy at the prospect of spending the rest of the day—it was going to be the rest of the day, Proprietor was  _ that  _ far, even by tube—with her friend.  _ Good. Akko deserves to be happy, sometimes.  _ Croix had watched Akko for a while now, and had seen her at her lowest. Croix had found out Akko was at her lowest way too often for a girl like her.

Croix smiled, careful to not let the girls see her do so. It was only a flash of a grin, and then it twisted into a snarl. “Alright. Get the hell out of my shop already.”

Akko actually saluted her. “Yes ma’am!”

* * *

  
  


Diana wasn’t one to break rules. Being overly rule-stiff was a requirement of holding the Cavendish reputation highly. She was even one to catch students in the act of nefarious action. Things like these curried favor with the teachers and would have made the students resent her if it weren’t for the fact she offered to help them with homework a lot of the time. 

Regardless of her spotless record in Blytonbury academy, Diana felt like a damn convict on the run as she slipped through the nooks and crannies that made up the part of London she was in. Every move she made was one that worked in stealth. She did not want to be seen, and she didn’t know why—it wasn't that people knew her here that much. 

She just felt that somehow she was going to be recognized, and she needed to stay hidden.

Whatever paranoid thought was put on pause as she walked right into her destination—Café Proprietor. 

The man who was working the register looked up from his computer and grinned. “Hello, Diana. Make the trek all the way from Blytonbury again?”

Diana regarded him with a polite nod. Her aquantinship with the man was based entirely off of the fact that she was a regular at the cafe every other Saturday and he worked the weekends. He knew who she was, surprisingly, and was quick to make fun of her secret  _ Chariot _ player life. It didn’t drive Diana away, though. He was kind enough to find cards she needed for different decks she was making for each visit. 

Today, however, she was looking for a card that even he had trouble looking for—The Jennifer Memorial Tree. It was one of the last cards she needed for the deck that she was constructing, and its rarity was the reason she was putting the deck completion off for so long.

But even if she couldn’t find it today, she had a few alternate options that could fill its spot for the time being. That way, she would be at least semi-prepared for whoever Amanda’s friend was. 

Either way, Diana walked up to the man running the register and asked, “Would you happen to have The Jennifer Memorial Tree today?” fully expecting to be turned away again.

But the man grinned again, like he always did—there was never a simple  _ smile  _ with him, was there—and said with a deep voice, “You’re in luck today, Miss Cavendish! We not only have the card you are after, but we also have the counterpart, The  _ Corrupted  _ Jennifer Memorial Tree. Since you’re such a loyal customer, I can offer both of them for the price of one.”

Diana felt her face heat up, and she waved her hands in front of her face. “N-no, that won’t be necessary, I can pay for both separately, or I can just take the one, even.” 

The man shook his head, sighing. “No, you don’t get it. The price of  _ one  _ is 15 pounds. You’re better off taking this Cavendish-exclusive deal.”

Diana gulped. She had the money to buy both, but she had been taught to be frugal with her money anyways, and Daryl would get after her. Sighing, she handed over the bread and grabbed the two cards from the counter. She had no idea what she was going to do with the  _ Corrupted  _ Jeniffer Memorial Tree. Despite being the counterpart of the card she wanted, it was a completely different card in itself and worked with different mechanics. Maybe she would come up with something to base it around later.

With unexpected time to kill, Diana decided to browse Café Proprietor and their stock of cards. Despite being a hotspot of meta-breaking  _ Chariot  _ tools, Proprietor was not one to flaunt its rare stock. Rather, all of the Chariot cards were kept in the back of the shop, almost hidden from view. A person would miss it if they didn’t know what they were looking for. Maybe that’s why they were able to hold so many rare cards for so long. 

Diana walked through the  _ café  _ part of the shop—a small, quaint little dining area for four or five groups of people who just wanted to chat over coffee in the morning. They had a little menu of certain breakfast items, sandwiches and a few artisan coffees. The part that Proprietor was known for—its game shop, was a neat little museum-esque walkthrough with a good balance of puzzles and family night board games. 

When she finally made it to the  _ Chariot  _ corner, she began leafing through the cards, looking for the ones she would have needed if she hadn’t found the Jennifer Tree so easily. The card was named  _ Ancestral Ritual,  _ a card she already had but needed a few more copies of. It made a suitable replacement as a Sorcerer’s Stone booster even if it was strictly worse than the Tree in the context that Diana needed it in. 

Diana was still puzzling over what to do with the  _ Corrupted _ Tree, however. It was a card that worked with the Pappiliodya card, and together they utilized  _ Belief, _ an ability that originated from the inception of  _ Chariot: The Believing,  _ which strongly boosted your magic output and creature power. It used to be a lot more broken until the game devs nerfed it—in the name of  _ balance _ —by making it a lot more gimmicky and weak.  _ But I can still find a use for it, maybe... _

The door burst open then, nearly making Diana drop the cards onto the floor. The voice she heard next  _ actually _ made her drop the cards. 

“OY!” Amanda O’Neill— _ Amanda O’Neill _ —yelled into the quiet peace of the shop. “DO YOU GUYS HAVE—oh, geez, I’m yelling—do you happen to have a papper-io-di-yaa thingie here? My friend needs it for her  _ Chariot  _ deck or somethin.”

Diana stared, and she was pretty sure that this was the first time that she was open-mouthed in her life. What was  _ Amanda  _ doing in a shop asking for  _ Chariot  _ cards? The girl never talked about them unless Diana initiated that particular conversation, and even then, Amanda tended to end any talk about the game with  _ ha, nerd _ . 

But in her panic, Diana realized that she had overlooked something that Amanda had mentioned— _ yelled _ —earlier. Something about a friend.  _ This  _ must be the person Diana was going to meet later in the day.

Deciding to observe rather than confront, Diana hid behind one of the shelves that were proudly displaying some jigsaw puzzles. She watched Amanda walk up to the register and yell at the man for all of two seconds. 

What happened next almost made Diana lose her composure for the  _ second time  _ that day. Because walking through— _ no, rolling through  _ the door rather sheepishly—was none other than Atsuko Kagari. She looked embarrassed by Amanda's boisterousness. So  _ she  _ was the friend of Amanda’s? Ah, curse Diana’s luck, really.

_ We are not friends now, and you’ve just made it so we will never be.  _ That phrase again. Diana clenched her fist.  _ She needed to leave.  _

When trying to stealth out of the shop by going around the edges of the Café, she picked up on what Amanda and the man at the register were talking about. “Yeah, we got your special Pappiliodya right here.” the man said calmly. Diana raised an eyebrow at that. He wasn’t put off by Amanda’s loud disposition at all. 

He continued talking. “It’s too bad, really. I just sold  _ The Corrupted Tree  _ to one of my most loyal customers.”

Amanda laughed. “Pfft...there are people  _ loyal  _ to this game? Oh, man, that’s gold.”

Diana’s indignant glare went unseen at Amanda. But if Diana had been looking, she would have noticed Akko making that exact same face at Amanda as well.

The man at the counter shrugged it off. “Well, you probably know her. Her name is—” Diana panicked —“Diana Cavendish. Hey!” He pointed his finger in Diana’s direction, looking oddly excited to introduce her to two random customers her age. Diana looked lost, like a deer in the headlights. Her back was against the wall, and every nightmare she had up to this point about being an escaped convict was suddenly and terrifyingly fully realized.

Amanda looked like she was about to explode with laughter. When she did, eventually, she wheezed out, “Oh, man, Cav. So  _ this  _ is why you weren't showing up at Luna Nova! You were at some  _ other  _ nerd shop! That’s hilarious.”

Akko didn’t say a word. She was glaring at Diana with a fury colder than what Daryl had ever unleashed upon the young Cavendish. Even though Akko was the one wheelchair bound, it seemed as though she was the one towering over Diana.

Amanda, being as oblivious as ever, simply said. “Ay, the three of us are at a café, why don’t we just, I don’t know, grab a bite to eat?”

_ Damn you, O’Neill.  _

* * *

  
  


The “lunch” that they had together was as awkward as it got. Amanda had halfheartedly tried to introduce the two girls to each other, until she realized that “You guys have already met?” as if the cold stares from Akko weren’t clue enough. 

But Amanda’s obliviousness to the situation had struck again. She kept trying to engage in conversation with the two of them on either side of the table, earnestly accounting for her and Akko’s relationship ever since they apparently “reunited.” 

“Get this, Cav. Akko here taught me how to play  _ Chariot!  _ Now I get it all, honestly. I know all about tapping, you know, the thing you do when you turn cards sideways—yeah, tapping. I kinda mastered the meta thingie overnight, did ya know that? I’m basically a  _ Chariot _ expert.” 

Diana avoided Akko’s glares for the entire 30 minutes of lunch they had together. It was really hard.

A person could tell that a lunch date-esque thing had gone to shit when the guy working the counter began shaking his head. 

* * *

It’s on the tube back that Akko finally speaks to Diana. Amanda thought she was being subtle with her intentions—she had sat two entire  _ rows _ away from Diana and Akko who were awkwardly sitting together at the wheelchair appropriated area in the car they were in.

“I’m going to beat you, Diana. You will lose to me one day.” She stared right into Diana’s eyes as she spoke quietly and firmly. 

Diana didn't answer for a second. She didn’t know what to say.  _ I look forward to it  _ may seem a bit too informal, especially accounting for the fact that they were considered  _ enemies  _ in Akko’s mind. It would also mean that Diana was accepting this feud, when she felt as if she should not. There was something about Akko that made Diana  _ not  _ want to be enemies with the girl.  __

Of course, not speaking at all would have that hazard as well. It would mean that Diana wasn’t accepting Akko as a  _ Chariot  _ player either, and only would serve to distance the two even more. But what to say?

Diana decided to go somewhere in the middle. She decided not to speak at all and went with a simple nod, hoping that the other girl would get the visual que and be satisfied enough not to lower her opinion of Diana further.

When Akko crossed her arms and huffed, Diana really didn’t know if she improved things or not. She hardly knew Akko at all and the girl was damn confusing to her.

They rode the rest of the trip in a somewhat comfortable, truced silence. 

* * *

  
  


The sun was getting ready to set when the three girls made it back to Luna Nova Coffee and Games. Amanda was quiet—maybe that meant she had finally gotten it inside her thick skull that Akko and Diana weren’t exactly on the best of terms. That would probably be the single most positive thing to come out of this whole debacle.

Meeting Amanda’s teasing glance on the other side of Akko, Diana realized that no, that was not the case in the slightest. She sighed.

This day had a lot left to be desired.

* * *

Croix raised a single eyebrow as Diana Cavendish came through the door. She didn’t come here too often, and Croix had been almost sad to miss her during the tournament. It would have been nice to see the girl’s competitive skill. But she didn’t look particularly eager to talk, and neither was Akko, rolling right next to her. 

Whatever tension was present here at the moment, it had no place during Croix’s work shift and her ramen. So she decided to break it and ask, “Did you get the Pappiliodya, Akko?” hoping she forced enough fake patience into her voice to sound like she wanted to listen and to ease the girl up.

That plan didn’t work. “Yep, I got the card, Croix.” Akko’s voice was dead and dry, like the ramen cup in her hand that Croix had neglected.  _ Damn it, Akko.  _ Croix would have to switch gears. “Would you like to test your deck?”  _ I’m going out of my way to put you in a good mood.  _

Akko looked like she was about to refuse, but then the flaming-red headed American, Amanda, came to the rescue. “Yeah, Akko! Let’s show this bitch what your deck is made of.” 

Croix held back a retort.  _ You owe me one, Kagari.  _

The group moved to the center table of Luna Nova and Croix and Akko layed out their decks. Croix’s mood slowly dwindled away as she began to peacefully drown in nostalgia while shuffling parts of her Coven deck.  _ I need to play this game more often,  _ Croix thought mildly.  _ I haven’t touched this deck in so long.  _ Croix felt the edges of the deck, feeling the musty, semi-ancient paper between her fingers.

The only fanfare to bring about the start of the first game was the song changing on the portable radio behind the counter. Amanda walked over and jumped on the seat adjacent to Akko, and Diana, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else, still reluctantly sat adjacent to Croix.

Croix’s opening hand wasn't much to write home about, as she could only play Sorcerer stones turn one and her actual spells couldn't be used until the third turn. She was betting quick plays on her next draw.

Akko went the route of a  _ Belief  _ based deck. Which was something that Croix completely expected, as that was the whole point of the Pappiliodya card.  _ Belief  _ was the most gimmicky, but traditionally staple mechanic of  _ Chariot: The Believing.  _ And Akko made it work decently in the first game. Her small, easy-to-cast creatures gained a lot more power and became heavy-hitters. Not only that, but Akko’s Coven Leader was Chariot Du Nord herself, the first witch printed in the game.

But in the end, Croix won against Akko. Croix utilized Dream-Fuel Spirit, which was an equally gimmicky counter to  _ Belief,  _ taking all of the power that the other player had gathered from  _ Belief  _ and giving it to the user _. _ Croix’s witch-type creature none other than herself. Croix Merides.

Akko’s eyes widened, and she asked loudly, “Wait, what?” 

Croix flinched. She was recognized. “Yeah, uh, I’m the ‘14 invitational champion. I uh, designed that card.”

Akko dropped her cards on the table, and looked like she was freaking out. “Wait, really?” Beside her, Diana looked just as shocked. The  _ Chariot World Of Magic _ Invitationals were huge, worldwide tournaments and the winner was designated to design their own card. It was a way to create your own magic, in a sense.

It was just as well, because Croix had designed her card work in conjunction with Robot-type creatures as well as The Noir Rod, which was her favourite card she had gotten when she started playing the game. Simply put, the more energy you the The Noir Rod, the more robot creatures you could summon.

It was all thanks to that that Akko lost the first game rather quickly. But Croix had won more than the game—Akko had finally gotten out of her funk, and was once again focused on playing the game and being happy. 

Smiling lazily, Croix got up from her chair and started to walk over to the counter.  _ I got a date with ramen~  _ she mentally sang, but she was violently pulled out of her fantasy when a stern, commanding voice spoke.

“No.”

* * *

_ What do you think you are doing, Cavendish?  _ Diana thought to herself in panicked anger. All three sets of eyes were on her—Croix looked annoyed, like she really couldn’t be bothered to exist anymore, Amanda looked irritatingly smug, and Akko looked  _ curious _ , which was the first non-aggressive emotion that the girl had displayed towards Diana. 

That made it feel worth it to call attention to herself, Diana thought. 

Nevertheless, she was very sheepish as she pulled out the card from her pocket. She held it out toward Akko as a...gift? No, this was a peace offering. An offer of armistice. She kept her gaze lasered in on the table when she waited for Akko to take it. 

Akko didn’t take it. “Uh, Diana, what are you doing? I can’t, uh, read the card.”    
  


_ Stupid.  _ Diana admonished herself.  _ Talk, worthless girl!  _ But a small part of her rejoiced at the neutral tone coming from Akko. Was it the distraction of  _ Chariot  _ that was keeping the brunette from realizing she was being polite towards a girl she had declared an enemy?

“Erm. It’s the Corrupted Jennifer Memorial Tree. It works well with the Pappiliodya. I think if you replaced the broom card in your deck with it, that would improve your deck quite a bit. It would boost all of your  _ Belief  _ so you could overtake the Dream Fuel Spirit and Noir Rod.” Diana felt very nervous, and she didn’t know why. 

When she dared to look up, Akko was smiling.  _ Smiling.  _ “Thanks a lot, Diana! I might have a shot now!”

* * *

Akko had won the second game. On the way out of Luna Nova, when Amanda and Akko were going their separate ways from Diana, Akko said one last thing. “Hey, Diana.” she turned to face the blonde, wheels scraping on the pavement.

“Y-yes, Akko?” Diana gulped. She was suddenly very aware of the light of the setting sun hitting Akko so that she practically glowed in her chair. 

“I don’t still know if we can be friends. But I think using the word  _ enemies  _ was too much. I still want to beat you in a game of  _ Chariot _ , though. So how about we be rivals, or something like that?”

_ Rivals  _ still felt awkward when Diana thought about it. “...Maybe?” she responded, not wanting to waste time making a response.

And the smile Akko gave made Diana’s heart soar.

And then it plummeted when she saw Amanda wink at her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look plot
> 
> Ok bye


	5. In response

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana and Akko play CTB again for the nth time, and Andrew is bad at customer service.

**In response**

Seeing Diana behind the pharmacy’s counter was a surprise, to say the least. Akko and her mother had been going to Hanbridge Pharmaceuticals ever so often since the Kagari family had moved to the UK, and it was rare for anyone Akko’s age to be working at the store - usually it was only Andrew Hanbridge, a young man who Akko got along with well enough.

He  _ was _ here, but he was helping Akko’s mother search in the equipment section of the store for a wheelchair that fitted Akko’s measurements well enough. Which meant that Akko was sitting in the bland office-esque pharmacy face to face with Diana Cavendish. They were across from each other much like the Luna Nova tournament all those weeks ago, except this time Akko was the only one sitting.

She didn’t know what to do. Should she say something? Her mother, not knowing anything about the  _ history  _ between Akko and Diana, had waved her off and gone with Andrew immediately, leaving with an innocent “Oh, you know this girl? Why don't you two talk for a bit?” after she had seen Akko’s eyes widen with recognition 

Well, there was a big reason in Akko’s mind for  _ why don’t you two talk for a bit _ . Akko had, upon meeting Diana, angrily declared that there was no chance for them to be friends. A sentiment that one did not— _ should not _ —go back on so lightly.

And yet Akko had. She made the decision impulsively in the light of the dying sun, when she was staring into Diana’s deep blues, to announce a truce. To become  _ rivals.  _ Whether that was rivals in  _ Chariot  _ or rivals in life itself, Akko hadn’t considered. At the time, using the word “rival” was a euphemism for “I’m thinking about what I want our relationship to be”. 

And damn it, Akko was  _ still _ thinking. She was  _ not _ ready for this. 

At least, it looked like Diana wasn’t ready to talk, either. Even if she was avoiding eye-contact with the tea-green blonde, Akko could tell that Diana’s eyes were also wandering across the room, unsure of what to do or say. 

But someone had to say something, because Akko Kagari was never one to sit in silence for more than 2 seconds. So, awkwardly squeezing the leather of the wheelchair, she said very quietly, “Um. Hi, Diana.”

Diana jumped. Akko’s head, which had been looking down at her lap, snapped up violently in surprise.  _ Was she not expecting me to say anything? _

“Um.” Diana coughed into her hand. “Hello, Akko. How… how are you doing?” Still avoiding eye contact, Diana’s eyes trailed down Akko’s body, almost as if she was only now acknowledging the other girl’s disability. 

Akko shivered, suddenly feeling self conscious. “Good!”  _ Wait, that was way too loud.  _ “Yeah, I’m doing good. Uh, how...how are you doing? She spoke tentatively, daring to look at Diana’s eyes. 

“I’m doing quite alright. I… I assume this isn't your first time coming here?” Diana squinted, feeling very uncomfortable making such awkward small talk. 

Akko shook her head. “No, we come here every so often for other things, not really for me. But this chair has been kinda breaking down for a while, so, uh, we’re taking care of it today. Um, you work here? That’s something I, well, didn’t know.”

Akko was realizing very quickly that hell was a small, quaint pharmacy that sold wheelchairs.

In an effort to douse the flames of awkwardness and embarrassment, she asked the one ice breaker she could have with the little information that she knew about Diana. 

“Wanna… wanna play  _ Chariot?”  _ Akko closed her eyes shut, waiting for the other girl to inevitably shut her down.  _ What the hell are you doing, Akko?  _ the girl admonished herself. It was the strangest question to ask, nevermind the complicated relationship they had that Akko was halfway making up—Diana was working, and Akko was there to get a wheelchair and leave as soon as possible. 

Whatever. The situation was weirdly tense, and Akko always carried at least two decks of Chariot, so  _ it didn’t hurt to ask.  _ Diana was probably going to say no, anyways, and then Akko would go on with her day. 

“If—If you insist.” Diana replied meekly. 

Akko nearly fell out of her chair. “W-wait, really? I… I mean, ok! Wow, um. I have two decks on me, so if you’re ok playing with one of mine, then…”

Diana surprised Akko with a small chuckle. “No, no, I have one of my own right here, as well. I appreciate the offer, however. Now, with that said, we might struggle just a bit while we try finding somewhere to sit…” As Diana began mumbling, Akko’s thoughts were racing.

_ Oh, my god. Oh my god. She said yes. This is happening.  _ Akko had no idea why this sudden development was causing her to get nervous; it was just another game of  _ Chariot. But,  _ she thought, desperately trying to rationalize her sudden nervousness,  _ This is Diana. Rival Diana. Pretty Diana—  _

She paused, startled. Cleansing her thoughts, she shuffled her  _ flight  _ deck. 

“Akko?” Diana spoke. “Are you ready?” 

“Oh! Uh—yes! Let me just turn around…” Akko flinched as her hands gripped the cold rim of the store-borrowed wheelchair that she was using.

* * *

Diana was surprised when Akko Kagari and her mother came into Hanbridge Pharmaceuticals on the quiet Thursday afternoon. It had been a little under a week since the whole  _ Amanda  _ fiasco, and Diana had  _ thankfully  _ not had any subsequent encounters with Akko during the school week. Which was ruined now, but there wasn’t anything that the Cavendish could do about it. 

But it was even more surprising when Akko offered to play  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ with her. It wasn’t anything unwelcome at the time, Diana wasn’t doing anything. And the conversation that they were having up to that point had been more than precarious. So Diana said yes in order to escape the cycle of “How are you's" that made up the strange small talk. 

There wasn’t much seating in the get-in-get-out medical store, but Diana managed to pull out a folding table and a couple of chairs from the storage area. When she finally got the little set-up put together, she thought to herself,  _ Why am I doing this?  _

But she still asked, “Akko? Are you ready?” and a creeping feeling of excitement for this impromptu game began to grow. 

It took a bit for Akko to rotate her chair around and inch herself across the tough carpet— _ she’s not used to the chair yet _ , Diana thought guiltily, wondering if it would be too awkward to ask if she could push the other girl—but soon enough, the two girls had started playing. 

The first few turns were silent, and no dialogue was exchanged. Just the flipping of card draws, and the gentle  _ whoosh  _ of turning the cards sideways. But after their 6th turn, Akko broke the silence. 

“So, you work here?” The question was toned offhandedly, being said at the same time as Akko was declaring her duelists. 

“Yes, I’m working towards a medical degree, and the Hanbridges owe my family a small favour. It’s not really for the pay, to be honest.”

“Oh.” Akko simply replied. And then followed another set of uncomfortably awkward turns, where the only reason either spoke to each other was only to signal that the turn was passed. Diana was getting a little worried, as the silence was quickly turning this situation into one as bad as the initial conversation they had earlier. 

“Hey, Diana?” Akko looked up from her hand. “What did you mean, when you said it?” 

Diana started, caught off guard— _ again _ —from the sudden interaction. “Pardon? When I said what?”

“You said that  _ Chariot _ was a ‘ _ distraction from life. _ ’ ” Akko fought to keep the accusation out of her voice, but a small amount slipped through. It was just—this whole interaction, a comfy, kitchen table game of  _ Chariot  _ with Diana—was clashing violently with the girl’s words from their first meeting. 

If Akko was being honest with herself, the remaining animosity between the two was only fueled by that. If Diana  _ explained  _ herself—what she meant, why she said it—Akko would let go of the tension. It was just  _ one thing _ . Diana could do that, right?

“I—I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Akko.” Diana spoke very quietly. Akko’s eyes shot up from her hand, a look of surprise evident on her face.  _ What?  _ Diana must have known, right? Saying something so contradictory with what the two girls were doing  _ at that very moment _ —even if she didn't constantly think about that phrase like Akko did whenever Diana entered her thoughts, that should have jogged Diana’s memory at the very least. 

And upon closer inspection, it was obvious that Diana _did remember._ Looking up, Akko saw that everything about the Cavendish’s demeanor—the eyes that refused to make contact with Akko’s, the vibrations of the table as Diana nervously tapped her foot underneath— _Diana was_ _lying._

And for the life of her, Akko couldn’t figure out why. 

But things were  _ nice,  _ now. The two of them were connecting through one of Akko’s passions. It was a step towards an understanding, and Akko was  _ not  _ going to ruin it with any more accusations. 

That would be for another time. 

“Oh, nevermind, then. Uh, swing for six.” Akko rotated her cards quickly in an attempt to dig out of the conversation hole she was in.

* * *

“You said that  _ Chariot _ was a ‘ _ distraction from life. _ ’ ” Akko’s tone seemed curious, but her eyes made it seem like Diana was being interrogated. 

And it felt like that, too. Diana remembered that moment vividly, when she had spoken harshly and hypocritically at the first meeting she had with Akko. It was her way of maintaining an image, at least in front of Hannah and Barbara. It was just her luck that she had forgotten about it until now, as her relationship with Akko had shown hints of improving. 

Hell, she should have prepared for this. Some kind of speech that more or less resembled why she said what she said. Because of course Akko would be holding on to that—it was obvious that the girl cared a lot for  _ Chariot _ , and Diana had gone and told her it was worthless. But any answer that she would have said would feel like a flimsy excuse, and Akko didn’t deserve that in the slightest. Even the truth would be bad, because Diana was still trying to figure out partially why she said that herself. 

So when she finally answered, she said the easiest and worst thing ever. 

“I—I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Akko.” Diana hoped this was convincing enough. Lying wasn’t something she was used to.

But Akko bought it. 

“Oh, nevermind, then. Uh, swing for six.” The girl wasn’t looking at her anymore, instead rotating her duelist cards for the duel step. Diana almost breathed a sigh of relief.  _ That was close. _

The rest of the game almost felt like walking on glass. Akko stopped any further conversation, only talking when she needed to declare duelists or pass the turn. At the very least, Akko was acting nonchalant, which was more than Diana could say for herself. 

Diana was so nervous that Akko might jump out with an accusation that the only reason that Diana won was because of a  _ lucky draw.  _ Whatever strategy Diana had was thrown out after that curveball of a question, and Akko’s sheer number of creatures had her pinned against the wall. Diana was lucky enough to get the  _ Grand Triskellion _ , which functioned as a game board wipe, sending both Akko’s creatures and Diana’s creatures back to their repositories. 

Diana managed to clear her head enough after that to correctly assimilate a new strategy to beat Akko. but even after the game ended and she won, Andrew and Akko’s mother were  _ still _ working on the wheelchair situation, which meant that she and Akko were still alone. 

“Um. So. I lost.” Akko coughed, dragging Diana’s attention from where her colleague and Akko’s mother were talking. “Again. Do you—you have any pointers, Diana?” The poor girl was meek as she finished her sentence. At least  _ she was trying _ .   
  


Well, Diana really wanted to pull this interaction away from any traces of their earlier tense moment, so it was in her best interest to humor Akko and  _ give pointers.  _ “Can I see your deck?” She motioned for Akko to give it to her. 

Akko looked almost surprised at Diana’s affirmative response to her request—which was partially Diana’s fault for making things as awkward as they were. She tried to give Akko her best attempt at an easy smile, which worked well enough—the Japanese girl grinned nervously back, handing her cards over a little too quickly, like if she did it any slower she would change her mind. 

Diana thumbed through the cardboard, taking note of the lingering stiffness—these cards were still relatively new, reminding Diana that Akko had still very recently moved to London, even if it had been a few months at this point. 

Right. Diana was supposed to be critiquing Akko’s repository. Trying to fill the air, she began muttering observations she made while leafing through the cards. 

“Akko, it kind of feels that this deck is very… ambitious,” Diana began. “The amount of win conditions that you have set up in this deck is admirable, I’d have to say. But the main problem is that the deck isn’t very focused. You’re essentially trying to devote your deck to three different kinds of magic at once— _ flight, transformation _ , and  _ spectacle _ .”

Diana must have sounded condescending, because Akko crossed her arms and  _ hmph _ ed. “I know that! That’s why I have the  _ Shiny Rod _ , though!”

Ah yes.  _ The Shiny Rod.  _ Diana went through the cards, finding it quickly. It was from Akko’s original collection, being a far cry from mint condition and written in Japanese. She remembered this card—it was the one that Akko had dropped on their first meeting. 

_ Oh, damn it all.  _ She just couldn’t get away from that moment, could she? Making sure that Akko didn’t see her panicked look, she hid her face in the other girl’s cards. 

“W-well. The  _ Shiny Rod _ —yes, it is a card designed to work with any kind of magic, but building your entire deck to rely on this card, especially when you only have one copy, isn’t the best decision. I think maybe focusing on  _ one  _ type of magic - say,  _ flight _ \- would be a better option.” Now, that was a good enough  _ pointer _ , wasn’t it?

Akko whined. “Aw, but Diana! The _Shiny Rod_ is my favorite card! I _have_ to base my deck around it!” 

Diana was very surprised at herself when she rolled her eyes at Akko. “No, Akko, you don’t.  _ Chariot  _ isn’t designed for one card to hold all of the weight of the deck. Each card has to  _ work together _ if you want to make something competitively sound.”

The other girl puffed out her cheeks. “Well, maybe I’m making a deck that doesn’t need to be  _ competitively sound _ , Di-a-na.”

The young Cavendish shrugged, passing the cards back to their owner. “Well, you did ask for  _ pointers _ , did you not?”

When Akko flushed a light shade of red, Diana found herself giggling.  _ Cute.  _

She wouldn’t be opposed to more small games like this, not in the least.

* * *

For some time, Andrew Hanbridge thought of his colleague as a machine. Everything that Diana Cavendish did was towards some kind of goal. And every step she took towards success was carefully calibrated. She had her whole life—if not planned out, then at the very least she had a direction she was going in. That was admirable, to be sure, but for the longest time, it was hard to see Diana as a  _ person.  _ Much less a friend that the two pretended to be.

Although it wasn’t like he was any different, he understood that every day needed to have a productive start-and-finish. If that was learning about taking over his father’s company or attending some rich party overseas on the weekends. 

The Cavendish family and the Hanbridge family had a complicated relationship, to say the least. Their histories were intertwined so that each family owed each other all sorts of loans, favors, and business deals. It was through this that Diana ended up working for their pharmaceutical branch, in order to serve her machine-like ambition to get a medical degree.

Andrew worked there ever so often because his father had wanted him to thoroughly learn about the ins and outs of the Hanbridge properties. Because of that, he had begun to learn a lot more about his Cavendish acquaintance.

That statement was a lie. He hadn’t known what he had done, but Diana seemed to want nothing to do with him. No words were spoken unless they needed to pass off tasks to each other or help multiple customers. He knew next to nothing about the girl. 

So sue him, he was goddam  _ curious  _ as to why some random girl in a wheelchair was breaking Diana out of her shell more than Andrew ever had. Diana was  _ talking _ —Andrew was almost certain that the girl wasn’t capable of conversation. 

He was slow to help the woman he was attending too, mostly because he was watching the two girls—what were they doing now, playing a game? At a closer glance, it looked like that one game that Frank was obsessed with that Andrew had no time for.

“Excuse me, sir?” the girl’s mother asked him, and Andrew did  _ not  _ miss the slight annoyance in her tone.  _ That’s right, you have a customer! Stop watching Diana like a creep already! _

“Y-yes, ma’am!” Suddenly Andrew was very nervous, which was a new feeling he would rather  _ not  _ get used to. 

But Andrew continued to mess up and watch Diana interact with this new girl. From what it looked like, Diana was smiling, laughing, and endearingly staring at her. Things Andrew—and nobody else, Andrew presumed, had ever gotten Diana to do. He was pretty sure Diana didn’t even notice what she was doing herself, either.

_ Oh.  _ Andrew smirked. He had suspicions and all, but—

_ Oh  _ indeed.

* * *

Really, what else would Amanda expect from those two nerds? Instead of getting to know each other, maybe planning a coffee date, or, what she really wanted to happen,  _ a spontaneous make out sesh _ , they play their damn  _ nerd game! _

Amanda O’Neill was being the best spy and she was a queen of subtlety. Nobody could tell that she was intensely staring at her latest matchmaking project like a starving tiger. Of course, you would only learn this if you asked the girl herself. Ask anyone else or just take a glance by yourself, you would find that was  _ not  _ true and that the American stuck out like a sore thumb in this broad daylight.

Amanda sighed.  _ Maybe I’m being unfair _ , she thought as she practically pressed her face against the window, fogging up the glass. Throughout the time she had known Diana, she had learned that while the Cavendish heir had been slightly embarrassed and secretive about it,  _ Chariot  _ was a big part of her, and maybe it was Diana’s way of connecting. 

Hell, it seemed to be a big part of Akko’s life now too, if not more. Really, they were perfect for each other. 

Amanda was going to have a lot of fun with these two. 

The door opened just then, and Amanda dove behind one of the bushes in front of the pharmacy.  _ Thank god for my soccer reflexes _ , she thought, watching nervously and hoping that Akko and her mother didn’t notice her as they went out of the store. 

“Thanks for visiting!” Diana called out with what Amanda  _ swore  _ was the beginnings of fondness. As soon as they were gone, Amanda fell out of the bush she was hiding in, toppling onto the ground in front of a  _ very _ surprised Diana Cavendish. 

“O’Neill!” She exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”   
  


Amanda lifted herself up, brushing the dirt off the pants she was wearing. “Thanks for helping me up, Cav.” She shot back, annoyance glowing on her features. But that quickly twisted into a sly grin as she made eye contact with Diana.

“So, I saw that your date went well,” Amanda laughed when she saw how Diana’s face changed to a look of exasperation.

“Please, O’Neill, don’t do this. It wasn’t a date and— _ wait, were you watching us? _ ” Diana was horrified.

Amanda waved that off. “Pshh, not important, Cabbage-patch. The thing is, I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or impressed that the furthest you went was playing that nerd game of yours. Did you plan a date, or not?” 

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that, she hardly sees me as a  _ friend.  _ Anyways—”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case to me.” Andrew Hanbridge pulled on the cuff of his sleeve as he walked up to the two girls standing at the entrance. He wore a nervous smile as numerous thoughts began rapid firing their way through his head, with most of them being  _ What the hell are you doing, Hanbridge? _

Andrew was quickly learning that curiosity was the thing that would often get the better of him. There really was no good reason why he was involving himself with Diana. But it was just as well, because he wanted to learn more about her, and now was just as good as any.

“While I can’t say for sure that Ms.  _ Kagari _ —” The name felt strange coming off of his tongue, he wasn’t sure if he was pronouncing it right— “has romantic feelings for you, It  _ did  _ look a lot like you two were close friends, from my outsider’s perspective.” Andrew made sure to speak slowly, carefully analyzing each sentence he spoke as it left his mouth.

“And who are you?” The girl who was with Diana—O’Neill, Andrew remembered Diana saying—crossed her arms expectedly. Andrew raised an eyebrow at her, quickly switching gears to a formality. 

“My name is Andrew Hanbridge. I work with Diana.” And, like he had done in formal settings, he held his hand out to shake the other girl’s. She took it suspiciously, but as soon as she gripped it, she shook it vigorously. 

“Well, the name’s Amanda. I’m here to get Diana a girlfriend! You, uh, in?” She grinned.

Andrew pulled his hand from the iron clench that was Amanda’s hand, quickly wiping it on his sleeve. He had to admire the girl, she was quick and to the point, even if she was a little brash about it. “Nice to meet you, Amanda. I’m not so close to Diana, so I’m not  _ entirely  _ sure how one goes about it, but I could always stand to learn a little bit more about my colleagues.”

Diana, for her part, was enraged. “Amanda O’Neill! What the  _ hell  _ is wrong with you?”

Andrew raised an eyebrow. Diana Cavendish was capable of  _ swearing. _ That was something new. 

She kept going, stepping forward to the redhead. “I don’t understand your  _ obsession  _ with my romantic life and why you insist on bringing  _ everyone  _ into it! Do you glean some sort of twisted amusement from it? Why can’t you just  _ mind your own business?” _ _   
  
_

Amanda’s confident smile faltered ever so slightly, and Andrew could see the beginnings of sweat beading on her forehead. “Geez, Diana. I’ll back off, I guess. It’s just—”

“Just what, Amanda, what could it  _ just  _ be?”

“Wow, um. You’re really mad about this. I thought—I thought you might need a little help or sumpin’? I mean, Diana, no offense, but, for someone as hot as you are, you  _ really _ don’t have any game.” Amanda finished her sentence slowly, like she was coaxing an angry beast.

That only served to get Diana  _ more  _ flustered. “That—that’s  _ entirely  _ out of line, O’Neill! I don’t—I don’t need  _ help  _ for these sorts of things! Besides, it’s hardly a priority, and even then, I—”

Andrew decided to speak, feeling amused. “If you don’t mind me interjecting—” he knew very well that yes, Diana  _ did  _ mind his interruption—“it seemed to me that you quite enjoyed... _ entertaining _ Ms. Kagari while I helped her mother out. I’m curious to know...do you  _ not  _ want to be closer to her?” 

Andrew  _ was  _ genuinely curious. This was a brand new side of Diana Cavendish that he hadn’t known existed, and in a cynical sort of way, he wanted to poke and prod like she was a science experiment. On the other hand, he knew that she worked  _ very  _ hard at the one-stop pharmacy, and that was the first time he had seen her unwind and relax. She deserved it.

“Well..I don’t—” The girl wasn’t prepared for that question, and trailed off. 

But Diana was continuing to do the opposite of those two verbs the longer they talked. She looked cornered, and Andrew knew that it was only fair that he back off then. Her friend—O’Neill, was it? seemed to have this under control, and they were closer anyways. So he looked over his shoulder, pretending like someone was walking to the door. 

“I’m terribly sorry, Diana.” his tone made it clear he was anything  _ but _ . “That was out of line. I can cover for you for a bit while you and O’Neill over here have a chat.” Andrew waved a smug hand at the pair, walking into the store. 

* * *

  
The girls continued to talk for about ten minutes—at least, that was how long it was until Diana walked back into the shop. She didn’t say anything, to Andrew’s chagrin—and stayed silent for the rest of the work hours. It was if there was any hint that there was anything outside of the  _ Cavendish _ of Diana before, it was gone now. 

But Andrew was determined—or rather, fueled by boredom—to learn more about his colleague now. So, while they were filing away prescriptions in the back room, whatever hesitation he had before was being stripped away as he struck up conversation. 

“When I glanced at you earlier, you guys were playing some sort of...game. I believe that O’Neill said it was of the ‘nerd’ variety?” He was careful to enunciate the tail end of the speech, trying to draw out some sort of reaction from Diana.

And a reaction he got. Diana cringed at his act of playing dumb and—was she clenching her fists? Andrew smirked, but before he could continue, Diana spoke. 

“It’s just a hobby of mine and hers that we share, so I humored her, is all.” Diana tried to sound sure of herself, but Andrew noticed her hands shaking as she moved different medicines around. 

Andrew launched onto that sentence with a vigour. “Oh? The great and studious Diana Cavendish has a  _ hobby _ ? This is a new development.” his voice was dry.

Diana turned to look at him, face flushed red. “Why are you so interested in my life all of the sudden? Like you said earlier, it’s hardly any of your business!” Diana’s voice was nervous and rushed.

Andrew turned his back to her, pretending he was reaching for something on a higher shelf. “Well, Diana, I’ve known you for years, and worked with you for almost a year. And yet... I haven’t really known you much this whole time. So pardon my sudden intrusiveness. It’s only in the spirit of curiosity.”

Diana was silent for a very long minute. For a moment, Andrew was almost convinced he was alone in the room. 

_ Did I kill it?  _ He wondered, moving to the back of the room. The only noise that could be heard was the whirring of a ceiling-mount fan. 

Feeling like it couldn’t get any worse, Andrew decided to take a shot in the dark. “Did you and Kagari meet through that hobby of yours?” His tone was tentative, but still inquisitive. 

It took a moment for Diana to respond. “...Not exactly. the first time we met was...different.” she paused, and Andrew could tell that there was a story there. He didn’t comment, hoping he would learn more when they...became friends? Was that the plan in this?

“...but we really did get to know each other through  _ Chariot.  _ We’re not close, but I know more of her now thanks to the game.” Her tone was quiet. 

Andrew laughed internally at that. It was ironic, because it was indirectly the game’s fault that he was learning more about Diana. 

“You seem to like her.” Andrew remarked, trying to sound nonchalant. Diana stayed silent. 

“In any case,” Andrew rushed out, looking at the clock. He walked to the door of the back room, opening it slightly. “It’s a little bit past lunch. Have you eaten yet?”

When he turned to Diana, she was full on blushing. Andrew was taken aback for a moment, but then he remembered his earlier comment. 

_ You really do seem to like her, Diana.  _

“Would you like to get something to eat?” he asked. To his surprise, Diana answered with a meek nod. 

_ I’ll try to help you with that.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back from the dead with my favourite character second to Croix. Yup, Andrew exists, and this chapter is all about him being a bro to Diana. 
> 
> I’m trying to create some hybrid version of Andrew here...something that combines the canon and fanon parts of him, where the fanon part of him is more mischievous but not malicious in the way that only Andrew Hanbridge can be. 
> 
> That’s all, DFTBA for another 11 months or so 
> 
> jk i kid sike it’ll be 11 years


	6. Back to your hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The NightFall convention happened.

**Back to your hand**

Business was always slow in Luna Nova, which Akko appreciated. After a long day at school, she would always have a haven to relax with her two best friends—Sucy and Lotte. Croix was usually working there, and when she wasn’t obnoxiously slurping ramen, she was usually fun to be around as well. 

That was the case today, where the four were alone in the slow, calm waters of Luna Nova. It wasn’t meant to stay like this, so inevitably, something had to change. It was a tad ironic, however, because the person who initiated conversation was the historically quieter one of the group. 

“Hey, Akko, Sucy?” Lotte’s voice broke the quiet monotony of card shuffling that frequently made up Luna Nova Coffee and Games. Akko looked up from the deck that she was retooling, pointing her head to let Lotte know that she was listening. Sucy simply took a sip from her iced coffee, which was acknowledgement enough from her.

Akko was currently working on a direct counterplay to Diana’s main strategy—both times that they played  _ Chariot  _ against each other, Diana used cards from older sets, often having to utilize a lot of the  _ ancient enchantment  _ type cards. Akko’s new deck had many responses to that playstyle, including more  _ modern-magic  _ cards that Croix had grudgingly supplied. 

“I was wondering… there’s a mini _NightFall_ convention happening tomorrow at Last Wednesday and uh… I kind of got three tickets by accident.” Lotte looked sheepish, pausing a moment before continuing on. “I had already bought my ticket! But then there was that raffle I entered weeks ago and… I was wondering if you’d like to come? Both of you?” Her voice trailed off, fingertips nervously touching each other. 

Akko smiled slightly at this side of Lotte. _NightFall_ was the thing that Lotte was truly enthusiastic about other than _Chariot._ What started out as a humble indie game project that was charming, dark, and humorous in its story and simple, easy-to-learn gameplay quickly evolved into a _phenomenon._ With 20 whole games, three different comic book adaptations, a crappy RPG spinoff, and an upcoming _anime_ adaptation to boot, _Nightfall_ had truly grown to be more than just a game. 

And the quiet, bookish Lotte went  _ crazy  _ over it. 

Sucy appeared uninterested, but Akko could tell that it was a farce as soon as she started talking. “I mean, there is that one flower shop… they could have some botanical ingredients I need. I’ll come, Lotte.” If it wasn’t for the mortal fear of being poisoned, Akko would have let out a literal  _ awww  _ at the small smile that Sucy made when she finished speaking. 

Akko had already planned to go to Café Proprietor in order to look for the last few enchantment removal cards she needed in order to beat Diana. “Yeah, I guess. It’d be cool, as long as the convention isn’t too  _ crowded _ or anything.”

Lotte’s eyes widened, and she waved her hands in front of her face. “No, it’s not like that at all! It’s super low-key, I swear!”

* * *

It turned out to be  _ much  _ more low-key than either Akko or Sucy could have anticipated. The two of them were sitting on a lonely bench in the corner while an excited Lotte in a sea of bored parents practically  _ danced  _ with her copy of  _ NightFall 2  _ for the FunCube. 

It wasn’t so much a convention as it was a copy-signing that one of the VAs for the game—specifically, the young man who voiced Edward— _ not even the creator herself! _ —had signed up to do. There were some snacks involved, and some free pop, but the whole time the only thought going through Akko’s head was,  _ they gave out raffles for this?!  _

But the way that Lotte’s face was glowing with happiness was keeping Akko from bailing. Really, ever since she had reconnected with Amanda, the three of them, (Akko, Sucy, and Lotte) hadn’t really had a chance to just hang out. Amanda had practically hijacked their entire dynamic, so it was a nice change of pace for Akko.

But thoughts of Amanda reminded Akko of the other problem she had at hand: Diana. Pulling the cards out of her pocket that made up her supposed counterplay against the young Cavendish, Akko flipped through them, focusing on the  _ flap flap  _ of the paper in order to drown out the white noise of the "convention."

Diana was acting  _ very  _ hot and cold towards Akko. Their first meeting was a mess, and the thing at the football game was a nightmare. But then when they met at Café Proprietor a little bit ago—Akko’s eyes drifted over to the doors of the shop, just across the street—and Diana had given Akko that card, slightly blushing, Akko’s impression of Diana did almost a complete 180. 

And then there was the matter of their meeting at the pharmacy—it was awkward as hell, but Diana was nothing but friendly towards Akko the entire time. And then Diana had very clumsily dodged the  _ one  _ thing Akko wanted to ask, which added a whole new layer of enigma to the issue. 

Akko returned her attention to shuffling her deck—for one reason or another, she wanted to get closer to Diana. She didn’t quite know why—at the moment, Akko was attaching the label of “Rival” as some sort of pseudo-reason. 

Her shuffling was interrupted as she heard shoes hitting the sun-bleached pavement, getting gradually louder. Lotte was running up to Sucy and Akko, still just as excited as she was when they came here an hour ago. 

“Guys… guys!” Lotte gasped out in between tired breaths. Her coke-bottle glasses were slipping down due to sweat—it really was too hot of a day for long waits in line, but there was no way in hell that that was going to stop Lotte. “He signed my copy of  _ Night Fall 2 _ ! He was  _ so  _ sweet about it as well! Take a look!”

When Sucy didn’t look up from her phone, Akko had to reach over and grab the well-loved FunCube case. The signature was written in silver sharpie, which normally would have made it more legible against the dark pallet of  _ Night Fall 2 _ ’s cover, but the handwriting was so sloppy that that didn’t make a difference in the slightest. The only thing that Akko could read was Lotte’s name at the end and what  _ looked  _ like a heart, and the rest was what Akko assumed was a quote from the game, but really, it was anyone’s guess. She looked up at the hopeful eyes of Lotte—eagerly looking for validation—and gave her best attempt at a convincing smile. 

Sucy, still not looking up from her phone, said, “So, we done? I’m about ready to get the hell outta here.” Brusque and quick, just like Sucy was. 

Akko’s eyes widened, and she whipped her head over to the other girl. “Sucy!” she scolded, shocked at her friend’s rudeness. 

Lotte simply laughed, however. “Akko, it’s completely okay. I understand that this probably isn’t all very interesting for you two, and I know Sucy doesn’t like having her time wasted. There  _ is  _ a trailer being shown for the next game, so, maybe you and Sucy can hang out at that one coffee you mentioned yesterday, Akko. I’ll meet you guys over there when I’m done.”

Despite her previous attempts to seem supported and engaged for Lotte’s sake, Akko openly sighed at her freedom. She immediately clammed up when he heard Lotte giggle at  _ that _ . 

“Lotte, I’m so sorry!” Akko waved her hands in front of her face. 

Lotte simply kept laughing. “No, no, it’s fine, I said. I’ll meet up with you guys as soon as I’m done! I play  _ Chariot  _ too, remember.” 

Akko put her hands together and bowed, calling out, “Thank you, Lotte!” as Sucy grabbed the handlebars of her wheelchair and began pushing her across the street to Café Proprietor. 

When Sucy held open the doors for Akko to roll through, Akko visibly breathed in the scent of the warm shop—a mix of coffee and cardboard. Like most shops of this size, a single radio playing an employee’s work playlist was enough to fill the room with a comfortable sound. The man who was working the register the first time Akko was here was doing it again, and his eyes gleamed with recognition when he waved at them. 

“Welcome back, missy. Anything I can do fer ya, today?” He grinned rather roughly, but it was friendly nonetheless. Akko smiled brightly, offering a “I think we’ve got an idea of what we want to do, but thanks.” 

Akko turned to her friend. “You wanna stay, Sucy?” She asked. “I know you’ve been wanting to go to that one flower shop or somethin’.” 

Sucy shook her head. “Nah, I’ll look around for a bit. I’ll whip up a quick deck and then we can... _ playtest  _ that new thing you’re making in order to beat Cavendish.” 

From anyone else, this would have been another friendly offer. But as Akko looked at the glowing eyes of Sucy, she knew that this ‘playtest’ was more of an opportunity for Sucy to once again wipe the floor with Akko. 

This wasn’t the first time that Akko wondered if Sucy only played  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ as another way for her to assert dominance over her friends. Akko gulped.

* * *

After about 20 minutes of looking for enchantment removal, Akko rolled over to a table where Sucy was sitting. Somehow, the purple-haired girl had managed to make  _ shuffling a deck of cards  _ look more menacing than ever, because Akko truly felt like she was going up to the executioner’s block to be brutally and swiftly killed.  _ Come on, where’s Lotte? _

Her fear continued to grow, because while Akko was shuffling her new deck, Sucy never once broke eye contact with her.  _ Geez, am I just a toy to her?  _ Finally, Akko teared her eyes away from the other girl to draw her hand. before she picked up her first card, she called out in a panic, “Best of three!” to which Sucy barked out a laugh.

“Whatever you say, Akko.”

When the game began, Akko realized that this was the  _ first time  _ she had done a one-on-one with her friend—all games before were three ways with Lotte, so Akko had the security of tabletop politics to escape Sucy. Now, however, she had Sucy’s full attention—a snake after a mouse. 

Still, Akko tried to keep a level head as she began emptying out her opening hand. Sucy’s decks were always built around poisons and potions, often incorporating enchantments and static effects, so Akko’s deck was actually a good matchup. The Robot cards were small, easy-to-cast, and they made more of themselves. So even if Sucy could poison one or two of them, there would be three more to make up for it.

Couple that with the ability  _ spellproof _ , which some of her creatures had, and Sucy couldn’t even use damage-type potions to get rid of them.

But just as Akko began gaining confidence, a glaring flaw in her deck began showing itself. 

“I cast  _ Mushroom cloud _ ,” Sucy said, smirking as she laid down the spell. Akko blanched when she realized she had nothing for it in her hand. Unlike the rest of Sucy’s deck, this card wasn’t a permanent, just a regular spell.  _ Mushroom cloud  _ was a card that did 2 damage to every creature—even the user’s. Since it wasn’t directly targeting anything,  _ spellproof  _ didn’t block it. 

And with that single card, Sucy wiped out the entirety of Akko’s side of the field, and only two of her own creatures. 

From there, the battle was very one-sided, as Sucy quickly turned it around to her favour, and Akko was beaten almost instantaneously. With a twisted shark-toothed grin, Sucy asked, “Game two?”

Akko didn’t answer at first, still in silent shock at having the game turned around so quickly against her. But then she sighed, saying in pretty literal defeat, “Let me check my sideboard first.”

The sideboard was a set of cards outside of the main deck—players were allowed to switch cards out in between games. Akko ruffled through it, sloppily spilling it onto the wooden table they were playing on, looking for any cards that could counter Sucy’s spells. Akko wanted to slap herself, hating that she forgot about that huge hole in her strategy. 

Focusing on removing enchantments was all well and good, but it really only worked if an opponent’s deck lived or died on said enchantments. That was the complicated balancing act that a player had to master—do you plan to counter  _ everything  _ or do you make your deck so focused it can win despite its drawbacks? 

Akko was quickly panicking as she realized she wasn’t carrying anything to stop Sucy’s  _ Mushroom Cloud.  _ This was far from an issue on the long run against Diana, but Akko didn’t know if she could stand losing another game against Sucy if she kept grinning like a fox with shark teeth. 

Thankfully, Akko was saved by the bell—one that rang out from the door to the shop as it opened when Lotte came to Akko’s much-needed rescue. “Sorry it took so long! I forgot about my copies of  _ NightFall 2  _ for my Gamestation 2 and Zbox! I had to stand in line  _ again,  _ thankfully Edward—did you know that that is his actual name?—well, he was so kind and understanding the second time I went through, so…”

Lotte’s voice fizzled out as she realized she was rambling. Her face was tinted pink, obviously embarrassed, but Akko urged her to continue, if only to delay another quick slaughter from Sucy. “Wanna deck test with us?” Akko asked, hoping to gain some sort of edge in a three-way fight. 

Luckily, Lotte agreed immediately. “Of course! I’ve been meaning to deck test a new deck of mine as well, so this is actually perfect!” And with that, she brought up a chair and sat right next to Sucy, opposite from Akko.

Because of her position on the table, Lotte didn’t see the grin never drop from Sucy.  _ She knew exactly what Akko was doing.  _ Trying not to sweat, Akko merely focused on shuffling her cards like it was the only thing keeping her alive. 

And if looks could kill, then that really was the case. 

* * *

In the end, the three of them had played two more games. Akko and Sucy had won one of each, with Akko claiming victory on the second round because Sucy ended up focusing on eliminating Lotte; exactly what she planned for. Lotte wasn’t salty at all for losing, probably still riding off of the whole  _ Night Fall  _ thing. 

So really, Akko’s new brew wasn’t anything to write home about; she just had to really plan for Diana’s deck in a purely hypothetical sense. But nonetheless, Akko was proud of her little project. 

“Thanks for inviting us to come with you, Lotte.” Akko smiled into silence; the Finnish girl was completely distracted by her signed  _ NightFall _ games. Akko’s smile twisted into a frown, and she had to roll up to Lotte and wave her hands above the cases. “ _ Thank you _ , Lotte.” Akko was firm when she said it a second time.

To her further distress, Sucy was also distracted by her phone  _ again _ , so, taking a deep breath, Akko yelled rather loudly, “READY to go to the flower shop?” This immediately got Sucy’s attention; her head shot up so quickly Akko was worried she would get whiplash.

Sighing with relief, as her task was done, Akko melted into her chair. “Alright. Let’s go.”

On their way out, Akko had a double take as she saw a girl duck between the three of them, blond and green tresses flashing through the doors of Café Proprietor. After a moment, she mentally shrugged it off.  _ Probably nothing.  _

* * *

At least the flower shop was cute. The white, rustic flooring was a great contrast to the dark, hardwood shelves that held flowers of all shapes and sizes. They even had a small section in the back of the shop designated for other botanicals which Akko knew Sucy was really here for.

In contrast, the woman working the flower shop was completely different from everything inside of it. Sucy had lovingly—the thought of Sucy doing anything  _ lovingly  _ was always going to give Akko goosebumps—referred to the lady as Lukić, a lady who checked off all the boxes of a storybook  _ witch _ , with her hag-like slouch and crooked nose, paired with a nasty sneer that seemed permanent on her features. 

For the most part, Akko and Lotte simply followed Sucy around as she plucked at different petals and stems of the colorful flowers of the shop. Akko was pretty sure that was stealing, but she knew she would only get hurt in the crosshairs of  _ Sucy doing what Sucy does, don’t interrupt.  _ So, after a while, Akko decided to just idle alone at the entrance. She had never been one for flowers or wreathes, only caring about them when it came to her grandmother’s grave.

_ Oh.  _ In a shock that could only be described as  _ melancholic,  _ Akko remembered that  _ that date  _ was coming up. 

Mood soured, Akko stared at the clock on the shop’s drab, gray wall.  _ I hope Sucy is finishing up.  _ She didn’t notice two sets of footsteps walk up to her. They sounded sharp and focused, like they were an act of purposed intimidation. 

“If it isn’t Kagari.” Hannah England spat out, like the name disgusted her. Akko rolled her eyes.  _ So much for a peaceful day.  _

Realizing there was no way to escape this confrontation, Akko breathed a defeated sigh for the nth time in her life. 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

* * *

Unlike Lotte, who decided to let Sucy and Akko know about the  _ Night Fall  _ convention the  _ day before _ , Barbara had asked Diana and Hannah about it at lunch at the beginning of the school week. 

Hannah agreed immediately—unlike the two of them and Diana, Hannah and Barbara were true friends in every sense. Diana, however, was taken aback for a second. 

_ Barbara liked  _ Night Fall? The entire basis of the fake friendship the three of them shared was completely dependent on the rejection of every and all things  _ distraction.  _ And the  _ Night Fall  _ franchise was very much a distraction. For Barbara to openly bring it up, based on her perception of Diana, was unbelievable. 

Diana shook her head, trying to clear it. Barbara took this as a rejection, and she looked very disappointed, but not surprised, as she bit into her potatoes. Diana was quick to react.

“No, Barbara, that isn’t what I meant. I’d be very happy to join you girls this weekend.” Her smile was small, but genuine. This was an interesting development—Hannah and Barbara were good girls, ones that Diana really wanted to become friends with—for real. Maybe  _ NightFall  _ could help her with that. 

Barbara smiled back. This was a smile that wasn’t fake, or even guarded. 

“Alright! It’s a date!”

* * *

Diana and Hannah were just as disappointed by the ‘convention’ as Sucy and Akko were. Sure, it was an  _ event,  _ but hardly a convention in any sense of the word. The sun was hot and dry—Diana had luckily thought proactively and worn one of her few casual, summer outfits. The girls were sitting on an iron, sun-baked bench in front of the shop, next to the tail-end of the line into Last Wednesday.

Diana was just waiting for the moment when she could escape Hannah—guilt for wanting to leave so quickly flashed through her mind, but left as soon as it came—and run to Café Proprietor. She had come up with a few ideas for decks to use against Akko. 

Inevitably, her thoughts drifted back to that day—The strange, impromptu game of  _ Chariot,  _ Andrew being all suddenly invasive and improper, and Akko’s smiles as she left the shop in goodbye. Really, with each encounter she had with Akko, Diana was looking forward to the next—

“Diana, why did you lie?” Hannah’s voice was cold. 

The Cavendish heir started. Suddenly, despite the blazing sun, the world had felt like it dampened. But when her mind finally caught up to the situation, she was thinking only one thing— _ Lie about what?  _ But not at the presence of the accusation, rather, the nature of it. Because at this point, Diana had very much solidified their relationship as a  _ pretense.  _

“Pardon?” Diana spoke, hoping the chills didn’t sound so obvious in her voice. 

“When we first met Kagari. All those weeks ago. What we talked about. The...card game. Diana, when we were young, you said the  _ same thing!  _ And I don’t know why you lied to Barb and I! Don’t you consider us  _ friends,  _ Diana?” Hannah looked tired at the end of her speech, it obviously was something she had pent up for a while, now. 

In her cornered state, Diana spoke quicker than she had time to think; the sentence that came out of her mouth was both dreadful and damning. 

“How did you know I was lying?” As soon as those words came out, The only thing that kept Diana from covering her mouth was her years of practiced eloquence. Mentally, however, she knew: she was caught. 

Hannah didn’t look surprised, which only made Diana feel worse. No, Hannah’s frown simply deepened, and her arms reached up to cross across her chest. “Diana, I’ve known you for years. Our entire life, really. I only feel stupid that I didn’t recognize your lies from the past. Answer me honestly—Diana, do you play  _ Chariot: The Believing? _ ”

To anyone else, this was a stupid question. So what if Diana had a harmless hobby? But to Hannah, who idolized and loved Diana as a true friend, it meant more. Because if Diana said yes, it would affirm years of deceit—and anything, not just  _ Chariot,  _ would be up for questioning. 

But Hannah deserved the truth. So, halfway preparing to end her friendship then and there, Diana sighed. “Yes, Hannah. I’m...sorry, for keeping this from you.”

Really, despite how sweltering the sun was, beating down on them, it was a nice day. The people around them were bored and complaining, but  _ alive  _ and  _ free  _ all the same. The leaves couldn’t be greener on the trees they grew on, and the breeze tickled Diana’s tresses like a close friend. 

This kind of conversation wasn’t in  _ any  _ way suited for today, but if it wasn’t done now, it would never be. 

Hannah didn’t speak, but out of the corner of her eye, Diana saw the other girl’s fists clench. “Diana,” she said, after a moment. “Do you know what it’s like, discovering that a friend of yours has been faking it for you?”

Hannah growled, but Diana was careful not to react. “I looked up to you, Diana. We both did, Barbara and I. But I don’t have  _ anything,  _ Diana.  _ Nothing _ . And even if it was arranged, I thought I might have something for once,  _ something  _ in our friendship. I was foolish, Diana. I clung to this idea, so I let myself go further—”

Hannah paused, spent. After a second, she continued talking. “I let myself go further than just wanting  _ friends. _ ”

_ Oh.  _ Diana couldn’t look anywhere near Hannah now—her eyes were desperately searching for an escape. 

And luckily, one was granted to her. Barbara ran to them, cutting the infrequent silence like Moses through the Red Sea. she was holding up a signed copy of  _ Night Fall  _ 2 for whatever game console...Diana hadn’t ever bothered to get familiar with games at all, really. 

When Barbara started talking, her sentences came out in long, tired breaths. “Sorry, guys—I just, there was a trailer for the next game and I  _ had  _ to see that, you know? Um,” She looked around, noticing the stale, awkward air between the two. “Did something happen?”

Hannah was the first to move from where she sat, uncrossing her legs and brushing off her lap. “Nothing of any sort, Barbara. I’m off to go shopping, in case either of you need me. Have a good day, Barbara,”

She stopped talking, making deliberate eye-contact with the Cavendish. 

“Diana.”

As she went away, Barbara brought her free hand up to scratch the back of her head and she let out an awkward laugh. “Well, it’s just me and you now, Diana. Wanna go eat lunch, or something—”

Diana wasn’t ever one to interrupt, but the later conversation had her way out of sorts. “Barbara, I actually have a prior engagement I need to attend too. It should be rather quick, so after I can rejoin you for lunch.”  _ And really, it  _ shouldn’t  _ take too long, I just need time to think.  _ Diana got up, brushed passed Barbara, and all but raced towards her safe haven: Café Proprietor.

As she passed through those doors, a familiar head of brown hair on wheels rolled past her, along with two others.  _ Shit—! Akko!  _ Diana thought, panicking as she ducked her head.

Back near the bench, Barbara loosely held her copy of  _ Night Fall 2  _ for the VisionCast. She was completely and utterly confused. 

“What just happened?”

* * *

Finding Atsuko Kagari was both a blessing and a curse—and for the same reason. Hannah didn’t understand why, but the disabled girl was somehow the center of her frustrations. Because of this, like her feet were on autopilot, Hannah put on her best sneer as she walked up to Kagari. 

__ “What the hell are you doing here?” Kagari’s voice was sharp and accusatory. Hannah supposed she deserved it, and she only clenched her teeth in reaction. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Hannah’s mood was in no shape to improve, but she needed to feel some kind of  _ power  _ after her talk with Diana. Not that she was feeling anything of that sort: the harder Hannah tried to hurt Kagari, the more pathetic Hannah felt.

Which was its own vicious cycle. Because that only made Hannah want to hurt even more. 

But before she could get a chance to clench her fist, snarl, or do something equally petty, Kagari answered the question that Hannah had already forgotten about in her anger-fueled amnesia. 

“Can’t a girl go shopping, England? Or am I not  _ able  _ to?” Kagari gripped the... _ wheels  _ on her wheelchair, and rocked back and forth for emphasis. And Hannah would be loath to admit it later, but she took a step back in a fear-like discomfort. 

Thankfully, at that very moment, Diana Cavendish decided to open both doors in a distinctly elegant, but at the same time, rushed and worried method. It really was amazing that despite how closed off Diana Cavendish would seem to most, she wore her heart on her sleeve if you knew her and knew where to look. 

  
But no amount of emotional concealment could mask the feelings and betrayal that Hannah was suddenly assaulted with when Diana spoke. “Hannah? I’ve been looking for you! Come with me, we should talk— _ Akko? _ ” 

In that moment, all of Hannah’s frustrations and anger at this girl, stuck in a wheelchair, were fully realized. What was just a suspicion of closeness before—the weird looks in the hallways, both having an interest in  _ Chariot _ , and the greatest offender:  _ the football game.  _

Because why else would Kagari go to one of Diana’s games if not because they were close enough friends for Diana to call her  _ Akko _ ? Did that not mean that Kagari had achieved in a few weeks what Hannah had struggled to achieve in years? 

But before Hannah could dig herself into a deeper hole of a confusing mix of self-pity and anger, Kagari broke her own silence, tone suddenly calm. “Hey, Diana. Your friend and I were just chatting, is all. You come here to browse the flowers with us?” 

Hannah was having none of it. “I’m done here. I’ll see you at school, Diana.” And with that, she walked out of the store, pointedly bumping Diana’s shoulder with her own. 

Akko, who had gone from stoic and silent, was suddenly confused at this development. She wheeled around to face Diana, making eye-contact with her. 

“What's her problem?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There ya go, fools. My first double release. I’m away from home when I’m writing this, so ch5 and ch6 will be up at the same time to compensate for my Steven Universe hiatus. I’m really glad y’all are staying with me for this length of time. 
> 
> Remember DFTBA,
> 
> Nathan Dripps


	7. When this card enters the battlefield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah.

**When this card enters the battlefield**

  
  


Hannah England was a bad person. She knew this, she was no hypocrite. She knew that the way she had treated Kagari and her friends was wrong, immoral, and unpleasant. That by doing so, she was distancing herself from Diana, who had grown closer to Akko in the span of a few weeks in a way that Hannah could only dream of. 

But it wasn’t like she was going to stop. Bad people tended to do just that: continue to be bad, and that was just how it was. 

Of course, that begged the question, as Hannah laid in bed, looking at a plastic wrapped pack of  _ Chariot _ , 15 cards included. Did she want to change? The sky outside was dark with the blackness of two in the morning on a school night, and she really shouldn’t be up. It wasn’t such a big deal anyways, it was a bloody card game, and she was losing sleep over it. 

What?

But this card game— _ Chariot _ —apparently  _ was  _ Diana, and Diana was  _ everything _ . So then by proxy, this pack of trading cards was—

With an angry flick of her wrist, the pack of  _ Chariot _ was flung across her room, hitting the wall with a satisfying  _ slap _ . Hannah was self-aware enough to realize that her hero worship or whatever of Diana had gotten a little out of control. While Barbara had Nightfall and that Jansson girl as some small distraction outside of Diana, Hannah  _ only  _ had Diana. 

What a disgusting infatuation. Why was it like this? 

Hannah cringed when she looked at the clock on the wall. Two-thirty.  _ Introspection takes a long time, geez.  _ Taking a breath, the world around her paused. She answered her own question. 

_ Yes. _

* * *

For the next few days,  _ change _ was proving to be hard. The following morning, she sat alone for lunch, Diana and Barbara having gone to join Kagari and her group of friends, including— _ was that O'Neill? _ —whatever, that didn’t matter, Hannah was staring, look away, you idiot. The cards of Chariot in her hands, which she had been sure to keep very secret, almost like she was sneaking a weapon into school, remained unopened.

It was a good thing she was alone, really. She needed this time to herself anyways. 

Looking at the brightly colored plastic, Hannah’s eyes almost hurt at how  _ joyful  _ the red-haired witch was on the front of the package. This person was obviously the titular character  _ Chariot,  _ and the happiness displayed from the grin was almost enough to drive the currently-gloomy Hannah away from learning about this game. But  _ change  _ required this step, as it was necessary to learn about it to repair her relationship with Diana again. There was no requirement to actually  _ like  _ it. 

Hannah didn’t know if she ever could. 

Opening the package, the first thing that greeted her senses was the feeling of halfway stiff cardstock. It felt pleasant, surprisingly, and calmed the storm inside her, if only just a tad.  _ What?  _ Why was she getting good impressions! Hannah hated this game! 

Shaking her head, the next sense that greeted her next was her sight of the cards. Taking them in, the cards were clearly broken into two different parts—art and text. The art was, to her chagrin, damn well made. You could sense the dripping talent of the artist who made the piece on one of the cards titled  _ Fragment of Yggdrasil,  _ drawn in beautiful lines that extended throughout the entire card. It was, for lack of a better term,  _ cool.  _

Of course, the text of the card was something far less understandable to someone with her untrained eye—full of terms and jargon that of course didn’t make sense to her:  _ Fragment of Yggdrasil  _ itself read:  _ When this card enters the battlefield, untap all Sorcerer's stones.  _ Then, right underneath it, the card read:  _ Sacrifice  _ Fragment of Yggdrasil,  _ all creatures gain spellproof until end of the turn. Your opponent can’t activate abilities or cast spells until the end of the turn.  _

_ Enters the battlefield  _ made a certain amount of sense, but the effect under it didn’t. What did “ _ untap _ ” mean? What were  _ Sorcerer’s stones?  _ What was  _ Spellproof?  _ Without any context on what exactly this game was, every question Hannah got from staring at the cards only gave her more questions. There had to be  _ somewhere  _ to get answers, surely. 

The bell rang off in the distance, signaling the end of lunch time. Hannah glanced upwards dejectedly from her study of the booster pack, looking at her barely touched lunch.  _ I’m not very hungry anyways.  _

A flash of teal blond to her right with the rush of students, and Hannah nearly fell over.  _ Shit,  _ she panicked, hiding the cards of  _ Chariot: The Believing  _ in her sleeves like a paranoid thief. 

* * *

A few paces in front of Hannah, Diana looked behind, concerned. Akko looked up at the girl from her wheelchair. “Diana! Are you even paying attention? I was  _ saying  _ that I’m working on a homebrew that’s going to  _ destroy  _ you this Sunday!”

Diana looked to her self-proclaimed  _ Chariot  _ “rival” slash new friend(?). Abandoning her feeling of concern for Hannah, she smiled slightly. “Oh? How do you think you’ll be able to do that?” 

This prompt, of course, launched Akko into a state of rambling about her new deck, and how it was unlike  _ anything  _ Diana had ever seen. 

The Cavendish heir smiled awkwardly, wondering exactly what this new relationship was, Hannah England forgotten. 

* * *

The rest of the week, Hannah spent her schooldays narrowly avoiding Diana, Kagari, and anyone else she had spoken more of a sentence to in the past, feeling like a stranger in her own home. The 15, now well studied cards of  _ Chariot  _ went with her everywhere, for what reason Hannah couldn’t quite pinpoint. It wasn’t like she was going to learn anything new about them. 

It was Wednesday when Hannah decided to  _ do  _ something about the cards burning a hole in her pocket. Light research online had led her to discover  _ Luna Nova,  _ a small shop dedicated to card games like  _ Chariot: The Believing.  _

Here she was now, standing in front of the doors to Luna Nova, streets empty of anyone who might recognize her. Perfect conditions. With a  _ probably _ overdramatic shuddering breath, Hannah walked through the doors of the shop. 

For some reason she was surprised when it was just as empty inside the shop as it was outside. Apparently she had the misconception that everyone played  _ Chariot  _ as much as Diana apparently did—a stupid belief, it was just a hobby of the pedantic—but then again, that was part of this whole  _ change  _ thing Hannah had committed herself too. 

“Need anything?” drawled the woman working the register. Hannah jumped, not trusting herself to speak, for some reason. 

The violet-haired woman stared at the auburn-haired girl almost tiredly as she slurped down—instant ramen?—and then muttered, “Ay, kid, I ain’t gonna ask again. Feel free to hang out ‘n all, but don’t just stand there all awkwardly.”

Hannah was blank. 

On her end, Croix was getting a little weirded out. “Look, kid, It’s almost midnight, You’ve got school tomorrow—I think? I don’ fuckin know, geez it’s been a minute—” She paused here, losing herself in her thoughts, suddenly very aware of her age—then remembered she was lecturing this girl. “Right...right!” She muttered, bouncing from being exhausted from a boring graveyard shift to being enlightened from a lack of sleep. “Yeah, um. Buy some shit or scram already, would ya?”

“Excuse me?” came Hannah’s incredulous tone—her snobbish nature won out against her insecurity, apparently. 

“Sorry! Sorry…” came the sleepy response from the woman. “I’m not... _ usually _ —” a yawn. “—like this. You can take your time, but don’t expect any help from me.” And with that, Croix went back to obnoxiously slurping on her cup ramen, only stopping to let out an even more obnoxious yawn. Hannah winced as she watched the scene, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. It was mesmerizing in the worst way, like a train wreck. 

Feeling her fingers around the cards in her pocket, she shook herself from her trance. “Not even if I pay you?”

That got Croix’s attention. Sitting straight up, giving the girl her full attention, “...pay me? for what?”

Hannah smirked, despite herself. Walking up to the register with an overconfident strut, she pulled out her  _ Chariot  _ cards like a magician, she said, “well, you said you wouldn’t help me. So I said, “ _ not even if I pay you? _ ” 

Croix blinked. “No, I get that, but pay you for _ what _ ?” She felt foolish for talking to some teenager like this, but money has to come from somewhere, right? (that, too, was also a stupid thought in her head, but—ugh) Croix avoided eye contact for a minute. 

“To teach me how to play  _ Chariot _ , of course!” Hannah’s smirk got stronger, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And, in her mind, it was—Luna Nova was a card game shop, obviously the employees there would know how to play the game, right?

Hannah’s acquaintance laughed. It was the type of laugh that was mean and harsh—something that Hannah clenched her fist at, indignant. Croix continued to laugh, but not because she misunderstood, no. Actually, Croix was rather amused as she saw the gears turn in the girl’s head. There was something missing from Hannah’s logic, however. 

“It’s fucking midnight. I’m not gonna babysit you, kid. If you want to learn so badly, why don’t you ask a friend or something? I know a few kids who’ve been hanging out in this shop for a while now, I can maybe introduce you to them if you get me the expensive cup ramen—” Croix’s tone was lighthearted and joking, but Hannah’s face paled, and she waved her hands up in front of her face frantically. 

Croix’s teasing smile dropped into a concerned frown. “Ok then, maybe the decent stuff from bp, then? Look, point is—”

“No! Not...not them, I meant. Please, it has to be you! I can’t let... _ anyone _ know I’m doing this. Please, just, name your price already.”

Croix raised an eyebrow, about to dismiss this girl yet again, but something changed within her as she studied Hannah’s desperation. There was... _ recognition?  _ Croix gulped, shoving the memories away. “What? doing this to impress someone you like?”

“Wha—! I, look. It’s not— _ not like that! _ ” Hannah growled. The pink blush standing out against the dark mshop told Croix all she needed to know, however. “If the answer is no, just tell me. There are other people who’d be willing to teach someone—”

Croix held up a hand, mentally sobering herself up from the drowsiness. “Kid, you need to control yourself. I’ll do it. I was only teasing. Don’t worry about  _ paying  _ me or doing any shit like that, alright? It’s a card game, it’s not gonna take tutoring sessions to teach ya.”

Hannah’s eyes widened at the unexpected turn of events. “Huh? You will? Oh, I—”

Croix chuckled lightly. “Gotta say, it’s a weird way to impress your crush.” Not five minutes into knowing this girl, and she already figured out which buttons to push—not a second later, and Hannah was furious. 

“I told you, it’s  _ not like that! _ —”

Croix waved her hand. “Again. Teasing. Anyways! If we’re going to do this, there’s going to be none of this ‘ma’am’ business. My name is Croix Merides. You call me Croix, alright? Nothing more, nothing less.” The following smile was genuine. 

Hannah  _ finally  _ relaxed. “Oh. Then, my name is Hannah England. Call me whatever you wish. I look forward to working with you, Croix.” and with that, Hannah held out her hand across the register, waiting in anticipation for Croix’s. 

Croix peered at it strangely. “Um…?” She looked up to Hannah, who looked way too eager for a girl of her disposition. For the second time that night, Croix burst out laughing. 

Hannah’s face surely couldn't grow hotter at this point, could it? But indeed, she saw an even deeper red. “W-what? Look, I just wanted to make it official—”

“ _ Make it official!  _ Hah!” Croix’s stomach was genuinely hurting, this girl was too damn much. “ _ I look forward to working with you, Croix!”  _ She mocked. Hannah was getting more and more angry by the second. But before she could storm off, Croix reached across the counter and grabbed the girl by the hand. “Kid, don’t worry about it! I work this Friday—drop by and I’ll teach you, alright? 

And then Croix flashed another  _ real  _ smile. It was strange—she wasn’t normally this kind. Maybe it was the unholy business hour, making her act like this? 

Croix knew the  _ real  _ reason, of course, but that was not something she wanted to confront tonight. Hannah walked out of the door, and the bell rang once again with that soft jingle. Croix smiled, but it dropped a second later when she began slurping her ramen again. Shit was soggy. 

* * *

Before all of this, Hannah thought herself as a person who would not  _ anticipate  _ something. Looking forward to something was a childish habit, something to be grown out of. But now? In the increasingly longer Thursday and Friday, Hannah dodged the curious glances from Diana and  _ Kagari  _ of all people. She even avoided Barbara, which was the only thing she felt bad about—She looked hurt. 

But this was her own thing, Hannah had to deal with it herself. Tonight could not come sooner. 

And yes, it was with a certain desperation that Hannah burst through the doors of Luna Nova, ready with all her heart to  _ get this over with.  _ A rash action, to be sure, because it was only  _ after  _ she ran through the doors like a rude trojan horse, that she realized that Diana and Kagari could very well be there. 

They weren’t, as it turned out, the only one there was a very amused Croix. “Wow, someone’s an eager student.” She remarked to a flushed Hannah. “Perhaps I should have taken your offer of payment a little more seriously…” She trailed off. Hannah nodded, not skipping a beat, pulling out an absurdly large handful of money from her pocket— 

“...wait. Woah, kid, stop. You need a sense of humor already, geez.” Croix waved her hands in the air with exasperation, rolling her eyes at Hannah’s followed look of confusion. 

“Are you sure? It would be no trouble to—” The girl began with an inquisitive tone. 

“No!  _ God,  _ I said no! Let’s just—did you bring a deck or something?” Payment or not, this wasn’t going anywhere. Croix sat up from her chair behind the register, cringing as her back’s eternal soreness shot all the way up like a bullet. She picked up her own homebrew deck on the counter, leafing through the cards. She felt a sense of pride as she looked at the cards—it was probably the only valuable she owned that didn’t smell like or was stained with ramen. 

Which was something to be proud of. 

Hannah tilted her head. “I’ve got these, if this’ll work.” And Croix raised her eyebrow curiously as the girl broke out 15 cards from her pocket.  _ Oh.  _ Croix let out a chuckle. 

“Kid, that ain’t a deck. That’s just a booster pack.” Croix explained, visually showing the difference in size between her deck and the cards in Hannah’s hand. 

Hannah flushed again. “Well, I-I’m sorry, Croix. Should I borrow one of yours?”

Croix shook her head, smiling gently. “That won’t work. Here, open one of those.” She pointed towards a shelf full of starter decks across from her, behind Hannah’s back. Hannah turns around, then looks back at Croix incredulously. “What?”

“You heard me. Open one of ‘em.” Croix’s voice was frank. 

“Huh? But, what about—” Hannah starts, eyes wide. Croix smirks at her. “Don’t worry about it, would ya? I can open it for you if you don’t know how. These packs only get harder to open every damn year, I say.” 

“But, shouldn’t I have to pay—” Her voice is growing meeker, like she knows that she’s going to get interrupted. 

And she is, of course. “Kid, please. I said don’t worry about it. Besides, if I hear you say the word  _ pay  _ around me one more time, someone’s gonna think I’m mugging you. Look, I’ll cover it. It’s alright, Hannah.”

Hannah doesn’t buy the excuse, and neither does Croix—she doesn’t even know why she’s doing it either, actually. But using the girl’s actual name did the trick. Hannah relented, forking over the packaged starter deck rather reluctantly. Croix opened it with a practiced ease. Almost.  _ I swear, the forests they are killing with this shit,  _ she thought bitterly as she navigated the ridiculous plastic casing. 

When it was all said and done, the two of them were sitting at a booth in the back of the shop. Croix was rather proud of the booth—convincing Holbrooke to use a rather large sum of the shop’s budget on a whim for a few benches from a bankrupt diner was a hard task. The red seats and the cushions were well worth it, even if Holbrooke made her pay half of it from her own pocket. 

_ I haven’t felt like this in forever, geez. _ When was the last time she played  _ Chariot?  _ Croix could not remember. She actually breathed in, feeling the nostalgia. It felt good. 

“Um, Croix?” Hannah asked, concerned. “Are you doing alright?” This shook Croix out of her reverie. She jumped, nearly tossing her cards onto the floor. 

“Oh, um, yes. Erm, draw seven cards and lay them out, would ya? It’s your first game, we'll do an open handed game first.” Croix began shuffling her cards, expecting Hannah to do the same. When the girl just sat there dumbly, Croix asked what was wrong. 

“What does open-handed mean?” Hannah blinked. Croix, for her part, blinked back.  _ What does...oh, god.  _ And stale blinking turned into a  _ very  _ restrained eye-roll.  _ That’s not even a—just what did I get myself into, now? _

But Hannah was waiting patiently for a response, and Croix had already committed by this point. Those eyes were way too damn innocent. So, with great enervation, she clarified, “Draw seven cards—pick them up from the deck— and place them on the table face up.  _ Normally  _ games of Chariot are played with the hand— _ group of cards,  _ mind you—hidden from the view of the other player.  _ But  _ because you’re new, an open-handed game is the easiest way I can teach you. Alright?”

For a second, Croix hoped her purposely patronizing emphasis in her explanation would piss Hannah off, just so she could see at least that Hannah knew  _ some  _ things about card games. When her stare was blank, Croix sighed. 

* * *

Thankfully, The actual learning process was a lot quicker. Once Hannah applied herself, she stopped being such an alien to the game and started to get a lot of what Croix was teaching her. When she had questions, she asked. Croix honestly felt a strange contentment teaching the game to a new player. It felt weird, but not unpleasant. 

“Alright. So, as I was saying—the  _ zone  _ isn’t an actual place on the board, it’s metaphorical. It is a ‘place’ in a sense, but it’s a place where we keep track of when cards were cast or abilities were activated. So if I play a card, and then  _ you  _ play a card, they both go to the zone—where your card is resolved first, because it was the most recent one played. Does that make sense?” To anyone else, Croix’s tone was uncharacteristically kind and patient. 

She’s already preparing an answer when Hannah asks the inevitable: “what does  _ response _ mean?” And she explains that it’s simply a fancy term for “their card’s effect,” and Hannah nods, satisfied. By now, to Hannah, the cards are slowly translating from the foreign language they've been for the past few weeks. 

And actually, in the span of a few hours, Hannah was nearly matching Croix in terms of skill. Though she’d be too proud to admit it, of course, and would simply argue that “she was rusty” and that her deck wasn’t “optimized,” but she was proud of the kid. By the end of a few hours, Hannah was even spicing her deck up with the cards from that booster pack she had been carrying around. Time had flown by. They were on game five. 

“I betcha you’ll be ready to impress your crush, kid.” Croix remarked. Hannah got flustered, as Croix predicted, (she may or may not have chosen to remark as such when Hannah had her down to one life) and Hannah said, equally as predicted,

“It’s not like that, I—”

“Well, what is it like?” Croix cringed, looking at the board for a second. She was nearly dead. All Hannah needed to do was sacrifice her  _ Fragment of Yggdrasil  _ and then Croix could do virtually nothing to her, unless she got a lucky draw. 

Luckily, her gambit worked, and Hannah was distracted. “I just, look. She’s a friend of mine.” 

The turn was passed.  _ Just a friend of mine.  _ Oh, god. Where was Croix’s ramen when she needed it? Holding back the sigh of someone who’s seen this movie before, she tapped her stones and played down a card, but this action went unnoticed by Hannah as she started ranting. 

“It’s just, this friend of mine, she said once that this game was childish. And I thought that she was telling the truth, or whatever, so I believed her! I thought that whatever she did or said was law, and so when it turned out that she played  _ Chariot _ , I didn’t know what to trust.” Hannah breathed out all at once, and the cards on her side of the table moved ever so slightly. 

Croix couldn’t believe it. Hannah didn’t see the very clear win condition right in front of her. But then again, she seemed to be letting out a lot right now. Was it wrong to take advantage of her like this? Hannah didn’t seem to care. “You seem to have some kind of hero worship with this person. Pass.” Croix said, flat as a board. 

“Oh, definitely.” Hannah rolled her eyes. Croix looked up from the cards for a second, staring at the girl in surprise from the brutal honesty. 

“What?” Hannah spoke, defensive. “I’ve had a lot of time for introspection, trust me. Uh, pass.”

She still hasn’t decided to win the game yet. “Uh, swing with two roombas for six. Let me guess. Your hero worship developed into a crush as the years went on? Now that you’ve realized everything that worship was built on is a lie, you’re hopelessly lost?”

“You’ve got it. Wow, Croix.” Hannah was nearly speechless. “I’ll take the six. Are you a therapist or something?” 

“Nah, that’s my ex’s job. I’ve just...listen. Hannah, I get it, is all. You don’t have to say much. Anyways. If you would kindly pass the turn…” Croix coaxed, inching towards her victory, step by step. She was almost there, all Hannah needed to do was— 

Hannah was suddenly hyper-aware of the state of the board. “Oh! I sacrifice  _ Fragment of Yggdrasil _ , and swing for 20. Game six, Croix?” 

Croix nearly dropped her cards out of the surprised anger. “Oh,  _ damn it all,  _ yes—! What the hell….”

Hannah was giggling from behind her cards. “Alright then, play or draw?”

“Fuck off, England…” Croix muttered. But really, she was happy underneath all that saltiness. She was glad to get to know Hannah at the end of the day. 

* * *

It’s that very Sunday when Hannah walks through the doors of Luna Nova, a brand new deck in hand. Diana and Kagari are playing a game of  _ Chariot  _ at the same booth from Friday. They hadn’t noticed her yet, but the three that were accompanying them did—Jannson, Manbavaran, and O'Neill gave her looks of surprise and glares, although it was just Jannson who gave her one of surprise. 

She actually smiled at them, albeit sheepishly. Croix, for her part, gave her another raised eyebrow. Remembering something, Hannah walked over to the register, placing down a ramen cup—the kind that made Croix’s eyes bulge. Without acknowledging the small “thank you” that left the woman’s lips, 

Hannah strutted over to the booth in the back with her old swagger. “Diana.” She said, simply.

Then finally, they both looked up at her. Kagari’s face immediately soured, but Hannah ignored her. Diana looked conflicted. Hannah was too, if she was being honest. But this was something she had to do. 

She put her new deck of  _ Chariot  _ down onto the table. “Would you like to play a game of  _ Chariot?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I’m back. Uh, I’m not dead? Anyways, thanks for reading this new chapter of my diakko fanfic that has nothing to do with diakko! Well, almost nothing. Anyways, as always, 
> 
> DFTBA

**Author's Note:**

> So that was chapter one. This marks my official, serious debut into LWA fanfiction, and I hope you stick with me. Kudos make my day, critiques make me happy. Leave a comment on what you thought!


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